X-Men: New Class
by Ambaryerno
Summary: Set in the Earth-10005 Universe, a new class of students arrives at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Inspired by the upcoming Agents of SHIELD, X-Men: New Class creates a hypothetical live-action spinoff series for the X-Men films, featuring characters from New X-Men.
1. 1x01 - Genesis

**A Note From The Author**

I got the idea for this story after the announcement that _Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._, a television spinoff of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was picked up to go to series. It got me thinking that this would be an excellent idea for the X-Film universe as well. There's a _lot_ of characters in the Earth-10005 universe that could be interesting to see brought into the films, but who might not have the familiarity among the general public to be able to carry a film themselves. However a weekly, hour-long live-action drama would be an excellent way to introduce these characters and build up the necessary recognition.

This ambitious project is the result.

The "episodes" to follow will be a mix of original stories and others adapted from the books themselves, set within Marvel's Earth-10005 universe. For Earth-10005 I'll be focusing almost exclusively on the universe as it exists in the films themselves, and will disregard sources such as movie tie-in games. There _will_ also be a degree of retconning of _X3_, because it was frankly a godawful mess. I've yet to decide exactly _how_ these retcons will be handled yet. I'm sort of operating from the perspective that the upcoming _Days of Future Past_ will finish the repairs caused by _X3_ and _X-Men: Origins_ that were started by _First Class_, and will end up retconning _X3_ out on its own. If not, I may just ignore _X3_ ever happened.

The main book source for this series will be the New X-Men. The goal is to create something halfway between an action series and family drama, where not _all_ the conflict will involve massive battles between super-powered beings (gotta think of the budget, you know). Above all, these stories will be predominantly driven by the _characters_ and their relationships and interactions with one another.

So without further ado, I bring you the pilot episode of _X-Men: New Class_.

* * *

X-Men: New Class

1x01

Genesis

###

Act I

###

"_In the beginning there was darkness, and then God breathed light into the universe. In this new light life sprung up, shaped by His hand. Greatest of all the creatures of the earth was Man, formed in His image. But Man was corruptible, and the powers of darkness twisted many into wicked abominations."_

_Alkali Lake, 2003…_

He watched him walk away, one of the specimens cradled in his arms as if it were an actual child and not the inhuman freak of nature it actually was. As they faded from view through the trees the _thing_ stuck its forked tongue out at him, and then the pair was gone, and all he could do was scream impotently at the man he had _created_, the man who owed _everything _he was to him. He was the most perfect instrument of death ever crafted by man, and James Logan had rejected it all, turned his back on his commanding officer, and left him chained to die as the damn holding back Alkali Lake strained from the damage inflicted by the Mutant terrorists.

Colonel William Stryker strained against his bonds. The dam failed, unleashing Alkali Lake on the surrounding woodland.

"_These abominations in the eyes of God, these mutants and their terrorist allies, assaulted the very men that defend this great country, and I was left to die in an attack which threatened the lives of thousands of innocent people."_

Water rushed towards him with terrible force. He couldn't see it, of course. The broken wall to which he was chained blocked the sight of the coming flood from view. However he imagined seeing the individual droplets of water foaming at the vanguard of the onrushing torrent. Trees shattered into splinters and were propelled like hundreds of spears through the air, while the largest and sturdiest were toppled whole and carried away. And then the first vanguard of the flood surged past, carrying trees, rocks, and fragments of the collapsing dam. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

The jarring impact as the main body of the wall of water struck was not what he expected. At first, the stonework to which he was chained managed to withstand the crushing force of the water slamming against it, before some piece of debris, whether an uprooted tree or a part of the dam he couldn't tell, struck a glancing blow to the corner somewhere above his left ear. Stone cracked and exploded, and the wall began to come apart. And as it did so, the chains restraining him suddenly fell free, and Stryker felt himself swept up in the water's arms, by some quirk of fate or providence the stone wall that was meant to be his headstone sheltering him from the worst of the flood.

"_But my work on this earth was not done, and God himself lifted me up from the depths when the darkness bore me down. And filled my lungs with air when I thought I had drawn my last breath. And he opened my eyes, when once I was blind."_

Darkness enveloped him as the water surged around him, a cold so penetrating it sucked the air from his lungs. He was tossed about by the current, and he felt something smash into his right leg. Bone shattered and fragmented, and through the agony he felt life in him again. He scrabbled and grabbed at the debris swirling around him, and he managed to catch hold of one of the mighty trees torn down by the rushing waters. His head broke the surface and he gasped a deep lungful of cold, fresh air.

Stryker clung desperately to his makeshift life raft and allowed the flood to carry him along. And as the waters which destroyed his life's work subsided, Stryker found himself lying alone on a snowy embankment, battered and bloodied, but by grace of God still alive.

###

_New York City, Present Day_

Stryker stood at his pulpit, his weight supported almost entirely on his left leg, and his service uniform exchanged for the robes of his ministry. He looked out across the gathered congregation: men, women and children of all races, all united in their beliefs. His was a simple church, a converted theater rather than some grand edifice of stone and stained glass, and it served his purposes.

His congregation sat in silent, rapt attention as they listened to the sermon. Many had heard it before, but he took note of some new faces in the audience.

"And though my body is now lame," he said, "Still I stand before you to reveal God's truth! Once, I believed that even mutants had a purpose in God's plan. Once, I believed that even mutants could serve their country. Once, I believed that even mutants could live in peace amongst their fellow men. But I was deceived, and God has unveiled to me the lies of the mutant apologists. Heed not the words of Xavier and his supporters, for his words are spoken into his ear by the Devil himself, and so long as mutants walk among us, _all_ are in danger."

He slammed a fist down on the polished wood of his pulpit. "We must purge this element from our great society, as if it were a cancer sickening our nation." And again, the sound of his hand striking wood reverberated along with his words. "We must protect our families from the danger which lurks unseen." One last time his fist came down. "We must save our species from this abominations brought among man by Satan, and embrace God's will!"

The congregation broke out into wild applause as he finished, and he smiled at the reaction.

_The faithful are as easily stirred as soldiers. When the time comes, they will do nicely._

Stryker raised his hands in a celebratory gesture at the chorus of "Amens" and "Hallelujahs." Then he picked up the simple cane leaning against the pulpit and made his way across the stage. His right leg throbbed in protest whenever his weight settled on it, for the bones never completely healed since the incident at Alkali Lake ended his military career.

A few members of his flock surged up the stairs leading to the stage to shake his hand or ask for a blessing, and he indulged them. God had seen fit to spare him from the disaster ten years ago, and he would oblige the faithful whenever possible. Nonetheless, he made his way resolutely to a side door, and before long was in the company of his bodyguard: hand-picked men in military-style uniforms, some of whom had served under him before his retirement from the Army.

They led him outside, and he blinked in the light of the dawn as he entered the broad alley between the side of his church and the building next door. Already the city was alive with the sounds of traffic and people beginning their mornings. It had been another long night-time rally, and at his advancing age such sessions were beginning to take their toll. He mused at the irony that even had he not been discharged, he might still have been obliged to retire from his military service by now as age caught up with him.

The guards escorted him along the alley to where his driver waited on the street with his car. One of the guards hurried to open the rear passenger's-side door as he reached it and eased him onto the bench, while another took a seat in the front passenger's seat. Stryker was belted securely into place, and the driver was just preparing to get under way when he heard the commotion of several figures approaching being intercepted by the rest of his security. One was a well-dressed woman in a jacket and skirt, and he rolled his eyes in recognition of Melita Garner. Her dark brown hair was neatly styled, and the warm olive tone of her skin betrayed her mixed heritage and lent an exotic beauty to her forty year-old features. She carried a microphone and was accompanied by a cameraman and several technicians.

"Reverend Stryker!" she called as she caught sight of him through the bodyguards clustered around his car. "Reverend Stryker!"

Stryker made an exasperated sign to his guards and allowed Garner through. She hurried over to his car, and her cameraman and technicians quickly began filming before Stryker could even consider issuing the order to have them removed.

"Yes, my child," he said, inserting a hint of his annoyance with the woman's persistence into his voice. "What can I do for you? Did you enjoy the rally last night?"

She ignored his question, and immediately slipped into the role of the investigator that had come to irritate him since the incident at Alkali Lake. "Good morning, Reverend," she said, her voice colored by a slight accent, a peculiar overlapping of typical Mexican and African-American phonology. "Melita Garner, Fox News. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about some of your recent statements on human/mutant relations?"

Stryker scowled at her as she confirmed his suspicions as to the purpose of her appearance at his church. "I believe my office has made my position clear. If you haven't received my official announcement I'll have a copy sent…"

"We are all aware of your _prepared_ statements, Reverend, however viewers would prefer to hear an unscripted response to your charges that Charles Xavier has been assembling a mutant army in his School for the Gifted. Frankly, many find these claims ridiculous."

And there it was. In that moment he decided the woman's persistence was a nuisance he was finished enduring.

"I stand by my statements, Ms. Garner…"

Her eyes widened in a carefully-measured show of incredulity. "So you honestly expect people to believe that a philanthropist like Xavier, who donated land that has been in his family for _generations_ to establish his school, is raising an army of _children_ as part of some vast mutant conspiracy?"

"Ms. Garner," he said, his expression serious. "The threat to our way of life presented by Xavier and his so-called school is very real. He harbors aberrations against God, some of whom possess destructive capabilities _far_ beyond the entire nuclear arsenal of the United States."

"According to what source, if I may ask? Your contacts within the US military which are so classified you've refused multiple Freedom of Information requests to identify them, and whom the government _itself_ claims do not exist? A disgruntled janitor at the school? Or does it come from what you've professed as visions from God?"

Stryker scowled at her. The aftermath of the Alkali Lake incident still chafed at him even a decade later. Of _course_ the government was well-aware that Xavier's private school housed the abominations, and he had seen to it personally that they were well-briefed of the potential threat. However had word leaked that his project involved children—even _mutant_ children—the fallout would have caused mass outrage among the public. So he was quietly swept aside, granted an honorable "medical discharge," and the truth of the incident covered up.

Of course, he could tell her nothing of this.

"Ms. Garner, I warn you that I will not have God or my faith mocked for the entertainment of your audiences," he said instead. "Now if you will excuse me…"

Stryker made a motion, and one of his guards interposed himself between him and Garner so the car door could be closed, finally allowing him to depart.

As the car sped away from the frustrated reporter, Stryker signed for the attention of the man in the front passenger's seat, a nondescript, brown-haired man of average height.

"Taylor, Ms. Garner's repeated harassment in support of the abominations is becoming something of an annoyance. Please see to it that she stops troubling me. With discretion, of course."

Taylor nodded obediently. "Yes, Reverend."

###

Melita watched as Stryker's car sped away, frustrated by his evasiveness to her questions. Nonetheless, she quickly masked her irritation at yet another failure to obtain an unrehearsed interview, and turned to the camera.

"As you can see," she said, "Attempts by the press to have the Reverend Stryker identify the sources in support of his accusations continue to meet with resistance. Meanwhile, he presses his verbal attacks against the children and faculty of the Xavier School for the Gifted, despite our own investigations and interviews with both faculty and students which have thus far turned up nothing to support Reverend Stryker's claims. This has been Melita Garner, Fox News."

###

Act II

###

The school's lounge was spacious, and as Julian relaxed with an arm around Sofia Mantega it was largely empty, with only a handful of other students present. They sat on one of the couches in a conversation circle facing a large-screen television in the middle of the room. A few arcade machines and a pool table stood in one corner, and computers and a study area, where the rest of the students present could be found, was tucked away in another. Windows on the West and North walls looked out onto the grounds. Two doors to the South lead to the formal dining room beyond, while another to the East opened out into the formal sitting room.

Sofia, her brown hair pulled back neatly and fashionably-dressed despite the early hour, largely ignored him, with her attention focused on the television. Julian, dressed in Abercrombie and with his own black hair carefully styled, scowled irritably at the image of Melita Garner as she approached the church of William Stryker.

"…outside the church headed by the Reverend William Stryker, where our cameras have once again been denied entrance," the reporter was saying. "Since his medical discharge from the United States Army following the Alkali Lake flood ten years ago, Reverend Stryker has become a curious mixture of recluse and local celebrity due to his outspoken verbal attacks against the mutant population, while refusing to respond to the press in open discourse. He has nonetheless amassed a substantial following that meets here weekly, and also attends the rallies staged in protest of attempts to confirm equal protection under the US Constitution for the nation's mutant citizens.

"Thus far, attempts to secure an interview with Reverend Stryker through his office have been stymied with referrals to his numerous prepared statements and manifestos. However if we are lucky, we will be able to catch him as he leaves from his latest rally."

They watched as Stryker emerged from the alley running along the side of his church surrounded by guards and headed for his car. Garner immediately broke into a pursuit, with the image shot by her cameraman swaying nauseatingly as he struggled to keep up with the woman.

"Isn't there anything better to watch?" he asked. "Cartoons? Talk shows? Hell, I'll even take the Kardashians than listening to any more of him."

"Shush," she said, her English colored by her thick Venezuelan accent. She elbowed him gently in the gut in a vain attempt to silence him. "I have a paper due next week on Stryker and his manifests. Garner's been trying to get a live interview with him for months, and I'd like to be able to use it."

"You know he's just going to have those goons break her cameras again."

His apathy and boredom getting the better of him, Julian flexed a hand, and a green aura formed around it. He pointed at the television, and Sofia promptly grabbed his hand when she realized what he was intending.

"Don't even think about it," she said.

He gave her a hurt look. "What?"

"No fair using telekinesis to change the channel on me. I took the remote away so I could actually watch this."

"Oh come _on_. Look, he's already brushed her off."

Sure enough, they watched as Stryker forcibly ended Garner's attempt to interview him when his guards slammed his car door shut. The reporter could only watch helplessly as he drove off, before turning back to the camera to deliver her closing.

Sofia threw up her hands in disgust.

"So you were right," she said. "It doesn't make you less of an ass."

He smirked and kissed her on the top of her head. "I love you, too, baby."

She rolled her brown eyes in exasperation, but a small smile managed to sneak onto her lips. "Oh just let me get to work in peace. Don't you have a class this morning, anyway?"

"Yeah, yeah. Computer Science, real tough."

"Yes I know it is, I saw your last report card."

Julian made a face at her, then kissed her on the cheek.

"Whatever," he said. "See you after?"

"See you after."

###

Julian slouched in his chair and leaned his head back, not even bothering to hide his boredom as he listened to Kitty Pryde give her lecture. She rushed through the lesson with the ease of a savant while the rest of the class struggled to keep up, and Julian himself had long ago abandoned trying to follow her, so most of his time was spent sneaking peaks of her butt whenever she turned away from her students to face the board. He suspected that aside from a couple of nerds, Kitty, the youngest teacher on staff at the school and in a close fight with Anna Marie (whom no one was ever able to learn her last name) for the prettiest, was the only reason _any _of the boys actually enrolled in her class.

Santo Vaccaro, his massive, rocky body barely contained by his chair and desk, sat beside him in the middle of the classroom. He leaned his head on one blocky fist, similarly trying not to fall asleep.

The tedium was interrupted by a knock on the door that managed to snap Santo back to full alertness, though Julian continued his survey of the ceiling tiles.

"Come in," Kitty said as she paused in the midst of her lesson.

The door swung open, and one of the most recognizable figures imaginable among the students walked in.

"Logan!" Kitty said in surprise, and rushed across the room to gather the Wolverine in a friendly hug. The open warmth as he returned her embrace would have seemed entirely out of place a dozen years earlier, but though Julian had heard the stories, neither he nor his classmates had even been in kindergarten during those days.

"Whoah, hey, check out the new girl," Santo said, nearly knocking Julian out of his chair as one stony fist reached across the space between them to get his attention.

"Huh, what?" Julian managed as the effort to stay righted snapped his attention away from contemplating the ceiling, and realized for the first time that Logan had not entered alone.

The first thing he noticed was she was rather small: The girl, about their age and rather pretty, would be lucky to clear five feet and possessed the lithe figure of a gymnast. She wore her black hair long past her shoulders and was very fair-skinned. The biker jacket she wore, which Julian recognized once belonged to Logan, was comically oversized on her small frame, and beneath that she wore a blood-colored corset. Her outfit was completed by a black leather miniskirt, fishnets and flat-soled, calf-high boots, and a gold locket on a choker around her neck.

"Wow, what kind of freak do you think _she_ is," Julian muttered.

The girl held a binder and a few books in front of her protectively, and realizing she was the center of attention for the rest of the class while Kitty and Logan spoke quietly shrunk as far as she could into Logan's jacket. Her expression was blank as she swept her green eyes across the classroom.

Santo shrugged. "I don't know, but she's kinda cute. Y'know, if you like the whole creepy Goth thing."

"Yeah, and creepy is right. I wonder where the Wolverine turned _her_ up?"

After a few moments Logan finished his conversation with Kitty. Ignoring the rest of the class, he touched his companion on the shoulder and muttered a quiet word in her ear before departing again. By now the rest of the students were having their own conversations about the newcomer as well, which were interrupted as Kitty cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today," she said. "This is Laura. Laura, would you like to tell us a little about yourself before we continue the lesson?"

"No," Laura said. Her voice was barely loud enough to register where Julian sat.

"Are you sure?"

Laura nodded slightly, and withdrew into Logan's spacious jacket.

Julian smirked at her. "Come on, Laura, share with the class," he said, prompting a snicker from the other students.

"Julian," Kitty said, giving him a warning glare.

"What? It's not time for show and tell?" The rest of the class laughed again.

"If she doesn't want to waste our class time entertaining you, Mr. Keller, that's her choice."

"I just want to know what she can do."

Laura leveled her eyes on Julian, and there was something hard behind them that made the finer hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"No, you do not," she said. The class gave a howl of amusement at the veiled threat in her voice, and Kitty interceded before the situation could escalate further.

"Alright, enough, everyone," she said. "Laura, please find a seat. Julian, eyes front and mouth shut or _we_ will have a talk after class."

Once again the students snickered. Julian gave Laura a smug grin as she made her way to an empty seat in the back corner of the classroom. With the disruption settled, Kitty jumped right back into the middle of her lecture, and Julian was soon back to counting the ceiling tiles.

###

Logan made his way along the hallway from Kitty's classroom, threading past a number of students, exchanging greetings with those he was acquainted with, and causing a quite a stir among those who had never met him but clearly recognized the Wolverine. Memories from the previous decade clawed their way up from the confused jumble of his past as he passed the sitting room and turned towards the library.

Some of the gaps in his memory had been filled in with the help of Professor Xavier, and there were a few things that were still murky but somewhat clearer now than when he first came to the school, but many things remained lost. Logan conceded that his experiences here had made him okay with that, though there were still some new things he would rather like to relegate to the black hole that had swallowed up parts of his past.

He entered the library, hands tucked in his jeans pockets, an unfamiliar resting place for them, accustomed as they were to the pockets of his jacket. But Laura had appropriated it for her own after he found her, and seeing that she drew some measure of comfort from it he couldn't bring himself to take it back, so this would have to do until he replaced it.

Students studied or conversed quietly at the tables, or browsed the bookshelves running in neat rows along the walls. Windows let in light from outside, and as the air cooled as Fall pressed on were opened to let a fresh breeze through. The muted background sounds of the library made even the slightest change in volume almost deafening to his enhanced hearing, and the mustiness of row upon row of old books, unnoticeable by most of the children, was especially prominent to his nose. He passed through a cloud of perfume where a girl—Noriko Ashida, if he recalled the scent—had been standing. It was just enough to get the attention of most members of the student body, but for Logan's senses it was almost overwhelming.

Yes, it was Nori. He could hear her giggling from the Northeast corner, and the trail of perfume led in that direction.

He continued on his way, and soon reached the door to Charles Xavier's office along the South wall of the library. He was about to knock when a familiar voice interrupted him. Not that Logan was surprised. He had already heard—and smelled—his approach.

"So how's my old bike treating you?" Scott asked.

Logan smirked and turned around to see Scott Summers leaning against the wall, gazing at him through his ruby-quartz glasses and with that expression Logan couldn't decide if it was meant to be a smug grin or a commanding glower on his face.

"Running better than ever, Cyke," Logan said. "You should take her out for a spin sometime."

"Dick."

"Boy Scout."

The two shared an amused grin over the greeting before Scott continued. "So what brings you back by?"

"Brought someone in this morning that could use some help," Logan said. "Xavier's waiting to talk about her now."

"I heard. And if she has _your_ endorsement it has me worried for all of us."

"Hey, everything worked out fine with Marie, didn't it?"

The other snorted a laugh. "Sure, if blowing up the Statue of Liberty's torch counts as 'fine.' It's not that I'll throw the girl back out on the streets, but from what Xavier and I discussed I still don't like it."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't. Look, you got a problem take it up with the Professor. Just lay off the kid, she's had it hard enough to have to deal with the stick you've got jammed up your…"

Logan trailed off as one of the younger students looked up, having heard his voice rise in irritation.

"Just lay off her," he finished instead.

Scott managed a smile and shook his head. "So I guess your visit is going to be just like old times, then?"

"'Course, and I'll be lovin' every minute of it." Logan's expression sobered. "So, how's Jean?

Scott managed a sad smile. "Beautiful. Always beautiful."

Logan nodded, weighing his words carefully. "Was thinking I'd stop by and see her later. If that's ok with you." Of course, there was nothing that _required_ him to ask, and in the past he would have just done as he damn well pleased and to hell with what Scott thought. And while Logan didn't know if he'd really consider him a _friend_—Scott was too uptight for his liking—he at least had picked up a bit of mutual respect for the man through the strange bond they'd formed over Jean.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate it," Scott said.

An awkward silence lingered between the two for a moment, before Logan broke it. "Anyway, the Professor's expectin' me. Don't you got some hall-monitoring to do?"

Scott shook his head again and chuckled as he walked away, leaving Logan alone and smirking at Xavier's office door. Almost before he knocked he heard the Professor's voice from within.

"Come in, Logan!"

"You'd think I'd be used to that by now," he muttered, then opened the door to Xavier's office and stepped inside.

As Logan entered the office he found that it had changed little over the years. Some of the furniture had been replaced, Xavier's office computer had been upgraded, and there were some new books on the shelves and other odds and ends, but otherwise it was the same functionally inviting space he remembered from when he first found his way there. Its walls were lined with bookshelves, and it was dominated by a large wooden desk. There was also a small conversation circle tucked away in the near corner. Professor Charles Xavier, who seemed to have hardly aged at all since they first met more than a decade ago, sat in his wheelchair behind his desk finishing some form of paperwork, but as soon as Logan entered was already moving to meet him.

"Logan, it's good to see you again," he said, smiling warmly. "Welcome, and please, have a seat!" Xavier motioned to the conversation circle, and Logan took a seat in one of the chairs. "I assume your search was successful?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah. The kid was skulking around and ran off when she realized I caught her scent. Didn't take much to find her after that, though. She followed me out and came right to me. She'd been looking for me."

"I see. Did you have any difficulties bringing her in?"

Logan considered for a moment exactly how much to tell him about the encounter. Xavier was certainly trustworthy, and he had already shared a great deal of what he had learned about Laura's background with him. "Well, it wasn't _easy_," he said, "But I convinced her." From the look on Xavier's face Logan suspected the man had sensed there was more to it than Logan outright said, but he could see the Professor's respect for his and Laura's privacy, and he did not press for more. "I got her sittin' in with Kitty's class for now to keep her occupied. Figure most of that class is her age, which will do her some good. Sooraya'll meet up with her when they let out and show her around. I'll talk to her tonight and help her figure out a class schedule then."

Xavier nodded. "Yes, Sooraya is a good choice, I think. I do wish to discuss this before any final decisions are made, however. I've read the copy you gave me of her mother's letter, and I must admit I am not without my concerns."

Logan sighed. "Seem to be getting' that from all angles so far. I heard Cyclops already had a word with you."

Xavier nodded and steepled his hands together. "I _did_ have a discussion with Scott about Laura while you were out looking for her, yes," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Please do not misunderstand me, Logan. I do agree that we needed to bring her here, for her own safety as much as those around her, and I would never turn anyone away from this school who has come to us for help. I am merely concerned whether this is the right choice for her."

Logan sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead as fragmented memories danced at the edge of clarity. He still couldn't remember the procedure that bonded the adamantium with his skeleton, but knew calling it unpleasant would be a massive understatement. "The kid's had it rough, Professor. Ain't nobody that knows better what she's been through than me. Ain't nobody that _should_ ever have to know what she's been through either, especially a kid. The things that were done to her…"

Xavier sighed in sympathy. "I know, Logan," he said. "And I cannot tell you how much I empathize with the poor girl."

"The point is that I was in her place once, too. I may not have been a student here, and I sure as hell ain't the model X-Man. Boy Scout out there sure ain't letting me forget it. But being here helped me put the pieces back together. I still don't remember everything I lost, but at least you helped me make peace with that and what memories I _do_ have." A chill worked its way down his spine. "Laura remembers _everything_, and I can't imagine how much worse that's made things for her. If there was anywhere that could help her find peace of her own, it's gonna be here with you."

"You know that I will do everything within my power, and everything within the capabilities of this school, to help her. But you must also understand that the emotional damage Laura has sustained is severe."

"I know, Professor. I saw nice, up close and personal just how bad it was, and it wasn't pretty."

He left unsaid just _how_ fine of a line he had walked when the girl had caught up with him.

"She's been doing a fair job of hiding it," he continued, "But I know all too well what she's feeling don't just go away.

"In a twisted way I'm responsible for everything that's happened to her, so I gotta at least _try _to make it right with her."

Xavier considered that for a moment, before responding.

"It may reach the point where she needs aid beyond what we can provide," the Professor said. "I would at the very least recommend professional counseling, which we aren't really equipped for."

Logan scowled at the suggestion. "Ain't sure she'd go for more poking and prodding. I was hoping all she might need is a chance to have a normal life for a change."

Xavier gives an ironic smile.

"A normal life. I wonder what the chances are for anyone at this school _actually_ managing to have a normal life."

Even Logan found the dark humor in that.

"Yeah, seems the track record for that here kind of sucks, don't it?" he said. "Anyway, I'll be stayin' on a couple days to make sure she gets settled in ok. She's trusting me, at least, which I suppose counts for something, though I imagine there's plenty of better choices for her to latch onto."

"I'm not so sure there's _anyone_ here better qualified to help her with what she is going through," Xavier said.

###

Kitty's lecture finally came to a close not a moment too soon, and Julian hurried out of the classroom in relief with Santo close behind him. He took up a spot leaning against the wall outside, watching the rest of their classmates file out while he waited for Sofia. A moment later she rounded the corner of the hall leading to the library and headed their direction, and he greeted her with a light kiss when she arrived.

"How was class?" she asked.

Julian shrugged. "Same as usual."

Santo grunted in amusement. "Which means he slept through most of it," he said.

Sofia folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Working hard on failing, then?"

"I'm still not sure why I even signed up for this class," Julian said.

"Ms. Pryde," Santo said, making a show of coughing into his hand as he spoke.

Julian gave him an irritated sock to the shoulder, and instantly regretted it. He yelped and shook it out as the pain of punching solid rock lanced up his arm. Sofia gave him a satisfied smirk as he rubbed his wounded hand.

"That serves you right," she said. Julian made a face back at her.

The rest of the students filed out of the classroom, and Laura emerged last. She shrunk into Logan's jacket as she brushed past them, holding her books against herself protectively as she headed up the hall, looking about as if she were seeking someone.

"Who is that?" Sofia asked. "I've never seen her around here before."

"Some new girl the Wolverine dropped off in class today," Julian said, and shivered. "She gives me the chills, and I don't just mean because she was a total ice queen in class. There's something _really_ spooky about her."

Julian flashed Sofia a smirk. "Hey, check this out."

The green aura formed around Julian's hand as he gathered his power, and he made a finger gun.

Sofia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Julian, please don't," she said.

Julian ignored her and pointed his finger at Laura. "Pew!"

He released the burst of gathered telekinetic energy, which struck Laura's books and sent them flying out of her hands. She stumbled in surprise at the impact, and her things scattered across the floor. Several of the other students around her laughed and clapped in amusement, and Santo cheerfully slapped Julian on the shoulder. The blow staggered him, and it was a good several minutes before it stopped throbbing.

"Good shooting, Tex!" Santo said.

Sofia scowled at him. "Why do you have to be an ass?"

Julian raised his hands in protest at the accusatory look on her face. "What?"

"Because," a new voice interjected, lightly colored by an Arabic accent, "if it looks like one and brays like one, it must be one. And one must act within its nature."

Julian rolled his eyes at that as Sooraya Qadir, the hem of her black _abaya_ brushing the floor around her, glided up the hall and glared at Julian. Though the rest of her face was hidden behind the _niqab_ which masked her expression, the irritation in her dark eyes was still enough to make Julian recoil.

Sooraya shook her head. "I have never understood the amusement bullies find in tormenting others," she added, "Especially when they are here to escape torment for being different themselves."

Julian gave her an exasperated look. "Sorry, 'mother'," he said, earning a smack up the back of the head from Sofia. Santo stifled a laugh, at which Julian gave him a glare of his own.

"Don't be such a jerk," Sofia said, fixing him with her most annoyed expression.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked as Sooraya stopped, folding her arms across her chest. Her _abaya_ billowed loosely around her like a cloud and obscured her shape, though one could still see she was of average height and build. Julian idly thought about how despite having known her for some time, he had still never seen her face. Nori and the other girls _had_ mentioned she was rather pretty, but it was still rather alien to think of her as a friend and not be able to _see_ her. "I thought you didn't have classes today and were headed into town with Cessily."

"Logan is in a meeting with Professor Xavier and asked for me to take Laura in hand," she said. "It seems I did not arrive soon enough."

He rolled his eyes at her again. "So who is she, anyway?" He glanced over his shoulder at the girl, on her knees now and trying to gather up her things. His hand began to glow again, and he smirked as with a casual flick he sent one of Laura's books skidding across the floor out of reach just as she tried to pick it up. Sofia grabbed him by the wrist and glared at him.

"Julian, that's enough!" she snapped.

"I don't know," Sooraya said in answer, "Other than that she is an acquaintance of Logan's. For which I must admire your courage in harassing her. Now if you will excuse me, _someone_ must at least try to be her friend."

###

Sooraya pushed past the group and made her way down the hall, taking a small amount of satisfaction in the dressing down Sofia was delivering to Julian as she departed. She did not speak Spanish herself, but from the context of some of Sofia's invective when her English failed her it sounded like her choice of words would be quite inappropriate in polite conversation. She was unsure if she should pity Santo for having to stand by and watch the spat, or if he found some sort of entertainment in it and was enjoying the spectacle that typically resulted from Julian and Sofia's quarrels.

Laura paused in the midst of gathering up her scattered belongings and looked over her shoulder as she approached, having already detected her presence despite her distraction. Sooraya lowered herself to the ground and began helping corral the last few wayward papers and books. The first she picked up was a children's book, _Pinocchio_, which Laura snatched almost protectively from her hands.

"Good day," she said, taking the girl's unusually defensive reaction to her handling the book in stride. "It is Laura, right?"

"Yes," she said. Her voice was quiet as she cradled the book against herself, before almost reverently stacking it with the others she had set beside her.

"I'm sorry for this, there are some among the student body who think they are still children. My name is Sooraya Qadir, and Logan asked for me to show you around the school while he is meeting with Professor Xavier. He said you would be expecting me."

Laura hesitated a moment and nodded, and Sooraya could not help but feel as if in that brief pause the girl had been looking clear through her. The girl's next words shocked her.

_'You are Sunni Muslim,'_ she said, in flawless Arabic.

For a moment Sooraya could only stare dumbfounded at the girl's grasp of her own native tongue, spoken without even a trace of an accent. That she had also discerned her faith at a glance within that brief moment was even more surprising.

_'Yes, I am. And you speak Arabic quite well.'_

_'I spent some time in Afghanistan. It was necessary to learn…'_

Laura's expression turned distant as she trailed off, and she hurried to gather up the last of her things. Sooraya helped her retrieve the last few papers, which she tucked neatly into her binder.

_'Really?'_ Sooraya said. _'I was born there. And where are you from?'_

"Nowhere," Laura said, abruptly shifting back into English with striking ease. She said nothing more for some moments, and realizing she would not clarify any further, Sooraya helped her back to her feet.

"It is almost time for lunch, are you hungry?" she asked instead.

Laura nodded.

"Come then, we shall start the tour there."

Sooraya lead Laura through the sitting room and into the lounge. Any questions she had were answered as briefly as they could be, with shrugs, nods or a subtle shake of the head whenever possible, and in only one or two words when the girl needed to speak. Her green eyes were constantly roving her surroundings, and Sooraya could not help but feel that every room she entered, Laura was aware of everything happening around her.

There were a few students not in class relaxing in the lounge as they entered. Some were gathered around the television, while others were scattered among conversation circles or working on the computers. Sooraya caught sight of who she was looking for and, as if expecting her, the other girl detached herself from the group she was conversing with and hurried across the lounge to meet them. Her liquid metal skin reflected the lights of the lounge, and she wore her red hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Her dress was unremarkable, just a simple pair of jeans and a pink tank top. Cessily Kincaid stuffed her hands into her pockets as she approached the two, and gave Sooraya and Laura a look of mixed amusement and impatience.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you," Cessily said. "I thought we were heading into North Salem today."

Sooraya inclined her head apologetically. "I'm sorry I am late, but Logan asked me to help out at the last minute with our new guest today. Cessily, this is Laura. Laura, I would like you to meet my friend, Cessily Kincaid."

"Hi, pleased to meet you!" she said, her voice cheerful. Cessily extended a hand in greeting, and Laura regarded it uncertainly for a moment before taking it. "Welcome to the Xavier School. So, where are you from?"

Laura withdrew back into her jacket again and shied away from the question. Cessily gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Don't like talking about it, huh? It's ok, there's more than a few who feel the same way. Quite a few of us don't exactly 'fit in' outside, you know…" She tapped her metallic skin to emphasize the point. "…but that's why we're here. I'm sure you'll feel at home soon enough."

"Laura and I were about to get something to eat, would you care to join us?" Sooraya asked.

"Sure, seeing as I was waiting for you anyway. It will give us a chance to tell Laura all our friends' embarrassing stories before they have a chance to defend themselves."

Cessily smiled mischievously and Sooraya chuckled at that, and the three started across the lounge towards the dining hall and the attached kitchen.

"Well, best we do not start with Julian or we will be here all day," Sooraya said. "Speaking of which, you might have a word with your 'brother.'"

"Let me guess, they've already met?" Cessily glanced at Laura, who looked back at her warily. "Oh, we're not _actually_ related, by the way, just good friends. Good thing for him, too, because there's times I'd love to deck him. I don't know how he can be such a good friend on one hand, and then turn into an absolute prick the next. Nori can be just as bad when you don't let her have her way. Anyway, how long have you known Logan?"

"Three days," Laura said quietly. Sooraya glanced at the girl, whose posture remained guarded and wary.

"Oh? How did you meet?"

"I found him."

The three walked in silence for several moments, during which time Cessily realized Laura did not intend to elaborate further. They entered the formal dining hall, an opulently furnished room with a long table lined with chairs running down the middle, hardwood floors, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling overhead. The hall was empty, however, and they make their way for the kitchen.

This was modestly-sized but fully-equipped, with a small and much more casual dining area tucked away in one corner. There was ample counter space, a microwave, a professional-sized oven, an industrial refrigerator and dishwasher, and pantries and cabinets lined most of the walls. There was even a walk-in freezer. The kitchen, too, was empty of other students as they entered, with those not in class preferring to take their midday meal in the lounge.

"Breakfast and lunch are casual here," Sooraya said, "except for special occasions. Dinner is served after classes in the dining hall. Sometimes we make a shuttle trip into North Salem, especially on days we don't have afternoon classes. The pantries are kept stocked by the staff and you may help yourself, and you are also welcome to keep food of your own as well."

"Make sure you label it if you don't want anyone else to help themselves, though," Cessily added. "We don't _usually_ have problems with that since it's such a small community here, but it happens. Do you have any special diet needs?"

Laura shook her head.

"Ok, just wanted to be sure," Cessily continued. "I know there's a few kids whose mutation requires special diets, Sooraya follows _halal_, and there's one or two Jewish students as well. I don't need to eat at all, but in a way it's kind of comforting to do it anyway and helps me feel, y'know, _normal_. Is there anything particular you like?"

Laura shrugged noncommittally. "No, unless there is something spicy."

Cessily thought for a moment and turned to Sooraya. "Are there any leftovers from that Indian place we tried the other day? I wasn't really crazy about it, but it wasn't _too_ bad and some of it had a real kick."

"I think so," she replied, stepping over to check the refrigerator. "It looks like there's some of the Chingudi Jhola left."

Cessily nodded. "Yeah, that was Josh's but he said I could have it since it didn't agree with him. If you like spicy, Laura, you'll love this. Hey, while you're in there can you grab me the other half of that sandwich I had yesterday?"

Sooraya handed a takeout bowl and half a submarine sandwich wrapped in brown paper to Cessily, then disappeared back into the refrigerator in search of her own lunch.

"Thanks," Cessily said. "We can eat out in the lounge or in here if you like. We usually don't use the dining hall except for the evening meal."

Laura withdrew into her jacket again and hugged herself. "I prefer it in here."

"Ok. Yeah, this place can be a lot to take in all at once, even though there's not a lot of us here. Me? I'm a bit of a social butterfly so I just dove right in, but I'm sure you'll warm up to it pretty soon."

Cessily smiled warmly and handed the takeout bowl to Laura, and the three turned their attention to preparing their meals.

###

Act III

###

Melita Garner pushed open the door of the tavern and stepped inside. The interior was not unlike the hundreds of others throughout the city of New York, and was dominated by a bar surrounded by stools for the patrons. A juke box stood in one corner, and the rest of the floor was occupied by tables. A set of double-doors opposite the front entrance led to the kitchens and storerooms in back. The lights were kept low, though the midday sun streamed through the windows looking out onto the street, and the place was filled with the sour odor of old beer.

The chairs had been stacked upside-down on their tables so the floors could be cleaned, and the handful of patrons actually visiting the establishment at this time of day were clustered around the bar itself. The bartender was an older man who in his youth had been well-built and muscular, but as age began to claim him that had developed into a bit of a gut, though he was still not the sort to be trifled with. He wore his dark hair, now fading into silver, cropped short.

Melita crossed the floor and took a stool a few seats down from a brown-haired man wearing a Yankees cap pulled low over his face. As she sat the bartender made his way over.

"What can I get you, honey?" he asked.

"The usual, Jack," she said.

Jack nodded and went to work, grabbing a snifter from a stack of freshly-cleaned glasses and filling it with scotch neat. He slid it over to her and Melita swirled it around a bit before taking a sip.

"Staying for lunch today?"

"No, she said, "Just stopped in for a quick drink before heading back to the station. How's the kids?"

"Doing just fine." Jack leaned on the bar and eyed her. "I caught your report this morning. I've got to say you've got balls. Stryker's a tough old son of a bitch. I never served with him myself but I heard the stories over in 'Nam. Ran some kind of black ops unit, though there wasn't much more talk than that which filtered down to us."

"I've heard that," she said. "Did you know when I went to cover that Alkali Lake flood back in '03 I got turned away by troops posted on the road? Oh sure, they said it was for our own safety, but then my _entire_ story was shut down. I've got a good source that says there was a lot more going on there than just a dam failure."

Jack shook his head. "You've been embedded with enough units in the Middle East to know the military loves to keep its secrets. They probably had some classified think tank in the area or something, and didn't want someone accidentally digging it up investigating the flood."

"Yeah, but somehow I don't think it's a coincidence that Stryker was picked up in the debris. And now his church's statements about the Xavier school? Christ, Jack, those are just a bunch of _kids_. Hell, you were around to see people bombing schools just because the kids had a different color skin."

"I'm not saying you're all wrong, hon', but Jesus, do you honestly think that Stryker is going to start blowing up mutie schools?"

Melita sighed pinched her nose wearily. "Yes. No. Maybe. But even if he doesn't, what's to stop someone reading his manifestos from doing it for him. I mean have you really stopped to look at those things?"

"C'mon, you know I don't go in for that tabloid-fodder crap."

"Believe me, it's some scary stuff. And what's worse is that a lot more people are willing to take it seriously." She took a long drink from her scotch, and propped her head on one hand. "Sure, Westboro picks up its share of lunatics, but it's a _lot_ easier to stir up anti-mutant sentiment these days. If people even _think_ Stryker might be calling for a religious crusade against them he's not going to have trouble filling the ranks."

Jack leaned on the bar and gazed at her levelly. "I think you're getting too invested in this, honey. You need to step back and take a break. Remember that you're supposed to be fair and impartial, even if it means giving crackpots their say."

Melita spread her arms in exasperation. "That's part of the problem! The crackpots are the ones getting the most air time. Do you remember where they stuck my interview with Charles Xavier? Three AM on a Sunday morning. The infomercials had better ratings."

She drained the last of her scotch and mopped her face.

"Maybe you're right, she continued. "Maybe I'm getting too invested, but we _are_ supposed to be fair and impartial, so what the hell am I _supposed_ to do when so much of the rest of the press is forgetting that." She sighed in exasperation. "Anyway, I need to get back to the office. Thanks for the ear babe. How much do I owe you?"

Jack patted her on the shoulder. "On me, hon'."

"Thanks, Jack. Take care of yourself."

"You too. You know if you keep ruffling feathers the way you do someone's eventually going to take offense."

Melita smiled at him. "That's why I love my job. Catch you later."

Melita got up and headed for the door. A minute or so later, the man in the Yankees cap finished his own drink, dropped a few bills on the bar, and followed.

###

Cessily leaned back in her chair nursing a can of Coca-Cola, and brushed the crumbs from her sandwich off her shirt. Laura was taking her time with the Chingudi Jhola and visibly savoring every bite. Sooraya watched the other girl with some amusement while she worked on finishing her own lunch, something she'd picked up from a _halal_ deli in Salem Center.

"So I tell Josh that if that's the way he feels," Cessily was saying, "he should just _tell_ her."

Sooraya regarded her thoughtfully. "Does Laurie feel the same way?" she asked.

Cessily gave an exaggerated shrug, the soda in her can sloshing a bit at the movement. "Damned if I know. She's so sensitive to what everyone _else_ around her is feeling it's hard to tell what's her and what she's picking up from everyone else. I don't know how she even handles it."

"She has been working on filtering it out," Sooraya noted. "She seems to be doing better in small groups lately, though she has still been spending much of her free time alone."

Cessily gave a sigh. "Sometimes I wish I could have manifested empathy instead of…well…like this, but seeing what it does to her I don't know if I could handle it." She turned to Laura. "So what about you, Laura? When did you manifest?"

Laura hesitated a moment at the question, her spoon halfway between her bowl and her mouth, and a pained look passed across her eyes.

"I was seven," she said, bringing the spoon up the rest of the way and continuing to eat without another word, while Cessily and Sooraya regarded her with surprise.

"Seven?" Sooraya said, shock evident in her voice. "I did not think it possible for a mutation to manifest so young."

"Your source of information is flawed," she replied.

"So…what can you do?" Cessily asked. "If you don't mind my asking."

"I do mind."

"Oh," she said, taken aback by her curt response. Laura's expression was deeply troubled, however, and there was a haunted look in her eyes, as if she were recalling things best left buried.

"I am sorry," Laura said after a moment. "It is not something I wish to discuss."

Cessily offered her a reassuring smile. "It's ok. I understand, I really do. To be honest, I really don't like talking about…well…_me_ much, either. Especially because of how much it stands out. People look at me and know right away what I am, so they start staring and it makes me uncomfortable."

"I don't know," a familiar voice interjected. "What I see is beautiful." Cessily smiled as Mark walked into the kitchen, a binder tucked under his arm and his headphones hung around his neck. She suspected he had his iPod in some pocket of his jacket, and his t-shirt advertised some obscure local band she didn't recognize, and whom she was certain Mark could recite their full song catalog. "Your skin is _particularly_ lustrous this morning," he continued.

Mark headed for the refrigerator for a soda, then returned to the table and dropped into a chair next to Cessily, running his hand back through his shaggy and stylishly messy black hair as he flashed a wink at her.

"Well thank you, Mark," she said, still smiling.

"And you look lovely too, Sooraya," he added, popping open his can and taking a drink. "Done something different with your hair today?"

Laura's spoon paused again, and she regarded Mark with a look of confusion.

"Her hair is covered in accordance with _hijab_," she said as if Mark were blind to the obvious.

They laughed in response to the seriousness of her tone, and Laura looked between the three in embarrassment before hastily finishing the spoonful.

"Oh, do not mind Mark, Laura," Sooraya said. "He is a shameless flirt. Mark, this is Laura."

He smiled at her. "Hi. You know, I thought I knew all the pretty girls at this school, where have you been hiding?"

Laura merely blushed and shrunk into her jacket.

"Laura just started today," Cessily said. "Sooraya was going to show her around a bit after lunch, and I'll probably tag along. You're welcome to come too, if you'd like."

Cessily gave Laura an amused look as she tried to resume eating.

Mark heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Much as I'd love to spend the rest of the day in the company of such lovely ladies I've got classes the rest of the day after lunch," he said. "Maybe another time, though. I'd love to get to know you better."

He winked at Laura, and Cessily couldn't help but smile when she noticed how visibly flustered the girl was by the attention. It was the most consistent show of emotion she had made since they met.

"Maybe we can meet up later if you're free?" he added.

Laura shrugged uncomfortably and continued eating without another word.

Mark gave Cessily and Sooraya a pained look. "Ouch, tough room. Was it something I said?"

"I am…not good with people," Laura said.

"Well, we'll have to work on that," he said. "Anyway, I've gotta run, so I'll see you ladies later. It's been a pleasure meeting you, lovely Laura."

Mark flashed her another wink, then departed the kitchen with his soda in hand. Laura watched him go with a bewildered expression, then turned her attention back to her lunch.

Cessily leaned in conspiratorially. "I think he likes you, Laura," she said with an amused smile.

"Mark likes everyone," Sooraya said, equally amused, "But he is sweet."

Laura did not respond, and merely finished the last of her lunch.

Sooraya took note of Laura's disinterest in continuing such a discussion, and pushed away from the table. "Well, if we are all finished, I think it's time to show Laura the rest of the school. Shall we?"

###

The sun was beginning to sink into the West, turning the sky the color of fire at the horizon before fading away to the darker indigo of approaching night. It made the gardens seem to glow, while long shadows began to stretch out like fingers across the school's grounds to cover the academy in darkness. Logan's sensitive ears could hear kids gathered in many small groups discussing the day's classes, or making plans to head into Salem Center for the night rather than have dinner at the school. Logan tuned this out as he always did, and gazed at the headstone in front of him, one of several in the small memorial tucked away in a quiet and reflective part of the gardens.

He'd thought he should say something, but words never came easy at the best of times, and coming to this place was never the best of times. Logan was a fighter, first and foremost. For a century and a half of his one-hundred and seventy-odd years he had been fighting in some conflict or another. Faces came and went, struck down too young while he lived on, the blessing and the curse of his mutation, so he had learned to harden himself to seeing people die. But there were some wounds that would never scar over, and the pain of that loss still bit him as deeply as it did the day they were taken away.

And as he stood over Jean Grey's memorial, the bleeding threatened to begin anew.

That was when she arrived. He didn't hear her approach, of course. The girl moved like a goddamn cat: swift, graceful, silent. He'd known what to expect when he set out some days ago to lure her into the open, but actually _seeing_ her in motion was a thing of terrifying beauty. He only sensed her now from her scent; disturbingly familiar, and just different enough to highlight the similarities and mark just how _wrong_ it was to in the first place. Though he knew she would have been coming from the school, she had circled around so as to approach him from upwind, deliberately announcing her imminent arrival. Otherwise even with his enhanced senses she could have taken him completely unawares had she so chosen.

He could have easily done the same.

"Hey, kid," he said as she arrived beside him.

"I am not a kid," Laura said, a trace of irritation briefly appearing on her features, before vanishing back into the stony mask she typically wore, and was so out of place on someone so young.

Logan quirked an amused smile, tempered by the knowledge of why her rebuttal was made so seriously. "You're close enough, darlin'."

Laura looked down at Jean's marker and hugged herself, her expression blank once again. He wasn't fooled, of course. For much of the last few decades he had buried the rage, at least during the rare times he didn't _want_ the world to see it. In the last twelve or so years he had pushed it down more and more frequently as he rebuilt his life, rebuilt his _family_, but it was still there bubbling just beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed at need and visible to anyone who knew him. He saw it in her as well, in the way she moved and carried herself, and could even smell it in her scent. But in Laura rage was a secondary emotion, forced down deep and smothered by pain and grief that she didn't mask nearly as completely as she thought. If one knew where to look they didn't need to be an empath to see it.

They stood in silence together for a few moments, both gazing down at the headstone marking Jean's empty grave.

"Is there comfort in visiting the dead?" she finally ventured after a few minutes of reflection. The expressionless mask shifted into a measure of confusion.

"There's some folks that think that way," he said.

"Do you?"

The pointedness of the question caught him by surprise, and he didn't respond at first. Logan crouched down in front of the headstone and idly picked at some weeds that had started to grow up around it since the last time the groundskeepers passed through. Then he gently touched the gravestone and rocked with ease back to his feet. He turned the question over in his mind, considering the wound that would not quite heal over Jean's death, before he finally responded.

"I've been watchin' people die for a hundred and seventy years, kid," he said. "And a lot of 'em I've put in the grave myself. A lot of it starts to blur together, and that's the bits I still remember at all. Others are…well, they're still crystal clear."

"That is not an answer."

Logan chuckled at that. "Maybe 'cause I ain't got an answer to give you on that one. Best I can say is I've at least found some peace, here, though I'm not sure how much comes from talkin' to ghosts. Don't mean I don't wonder what she might have to say about it, or think she'd appreciate me comin' by. I know Cyke comes here and talks from time to time an' it seems to work for him."

Laura's expression became troubled, and a hint of shame appeared on her youthful features. "I have…not considered it at all," she admitted. "I do not know what I would say. And if I did, I would not even know where to look for…"

She trailed off suddenly, a slight hitch in her voice and a hint of sadness in her eyes that was quickly forced down and buried again. They had talked some during the couple days at the camp upstate when she finally revealed herself, and the words of the Professor returned to mind:

_It may reach the point where she needs aid beyond what we can provide_.

Since the camp she had not talked about what had happened to her at all, forcing it all back down to fester again, and as he considered Xavier's words he felt concern rising up. For all the rest that she was he could still see the vulnerable young girl she attempted to hide from the rest of the world, and Logan knew better than anyone how self-destructive what she was feeling could be if left buried.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, though Logan could smell the lie on her, but decided not to press.

He gave her a sympathetic frown, and gently took her by the shoulder. "C'mon, let's see about grabbin' something to eat. Feel like a trip to the city?"

Laura just shrugged.

"We'll make that a yes for now. Guess we'll have to work on the communication thing."

He put an arm around her shoulders and the two started down the path, leaving the dead to sleep behind them.

###

Act IV

###

Logan and Laura left the pizzeria and stepped out into the night air. Logan fished into the pocket of his new jacket—he had given up entirely on the idea of asking Laura for his old one back—for a cigar and paused to light it up, then the two made their way up the street while Laura sipped at her soda.

"I'll talk to the Professor when we get back and get you added to these classes," he said. "So how are you holdin' up here?"

"I have doubts," she said glumly. "I am uncertain whether I belong there."

Logan nodded in understanding.

"So was I, at first. And maybe I still don't completely, which is why I've been more in and out. But they're good people who've helped me plenty. Xavier, Ororo, Marie an' Kitty. Hell, even Boy Scout, but not like I'll ever admit that to his face." He flashed her a grin, but if Laura found the comment amusing she didn't show it. "They can help you, too."

"I fear that it may be too late for me, and that I am beyond helping."

Logan stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. "Hey, don't say that about yourself. I know what you've gone through. I've _been_ there. And if there's one thing they taught me it's that there's no one beyond helping who actually wants it. You have a chance for a normal life here. Well, at least as normal as it gets for people like us. I ain't saying it's gonna be easy, but don't give up on yourself."

Laura didn't respond at first, as if she were weighing his words carefully. "You will be there?"

He gave her a smile and nodded. "Often as I can. Like I said, I tend to be in and out, but if you ever need to talk I'll leave you a way to get in touch with me. You got a phone, right?"

"Yes," she said, hesitating a moment before adding, "Thank you."

They started up the street again. "Besides, those are some good kids," he said, "so you shouldn't have trouble makin' friends, and you might not even notice when I'm not in. Sooraya show you around?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "I think the two of you will get along pretty good."

"She made an effort, but I do not know if I made a good impression."

"Sooraya's got a good level head 'neath that _niqab_. Don't think there's much you can say to set her off."

Laura considered that. "She seemed understanding. As did Cessily. Mark…I was not sure what to make of."

Logan smirked around his cigar at her. Mark Sheppard's reputation preceded him, and even if Logan wasn't at the school very often, word _did_ get back to him about the student body. "Started on you, did he?"

"I was…flattered," she admitted. "But it made me uncomfortable because of…"

She trailed off and he was treated to the rare sight of her face coloring in embarrassment as memories she would rather not have resurfaced. Logan put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"I know," he said. "Don't worry about him, he didn't mean anything by it."

"I just do not know how to _be_ around others."

He chuckled. "Hell kid, most teenagers don't. It's part of what bein' a teenager is, so you're not lagging as far behind the others as you think. Trust me, you're smart. You'll find yourself before long."

Laura nodded uncertainly and shrunk a bit into her jacket as they proceeded down the street.

###

Taylor leaned against the lamppost watching the front of the restaurant, the bill of his Yankees cap pulled down low over his eyes, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. He had spent most of the day following her, and now everything was in place. If Reverend Stryker wanted the woman dealt with, he wouldn't let him down.

After a few more minutes of waiting Melita Garner exited the restaurant with a group of other people. She wore heels—excellent, that would make it harder for her to run—and a fashionable dress, and carried her purse slung across her body in a way that would protect it from anyone trying to snatch it. After a few hugs and goodbyes the group she was with split up, and Garner headed off alone up the street. Taylor let her get a short ways ahead, just enough spacing that his pursuit wouldn't be obvious with the rest of the pedestrian traffic, and followed.

Garner arrived alone at a street corner to hail a cab, and Taylor quickly stepped up behind her. He pulled snub-nosed revolver from inside his jacket and buried the muzzle in the small of her back. Garner's body went rigid and alarm spread across her features.

"Don't move," he hissed into her ear.

"There's two-hundred in cash and my credit card in my purse," she said. "You don't need to pull that trigger."

"Shut up, this isn't a mugging. We're taking a nice, quiet walk to that alley over there." He motioned vaguely ahead of them and to their left.

Garner's eyes widened even further and her face paled as a new fear entered her mind. While her thoughts were likely inaccurate as to what he intended, Taylor allowed her imagination to run away with her and dug the muzzle of his revolver deeper into her back as he forced her to move in the direction he indicated. They started forward, and he positioned himself to hide the weapon in her back so casual passersby couldn't see it.

However before they could reach the alley Garner stumbled, a bit too conveniently to have been natural and enough to take her out of his line of fire. Before he could readjust his aim he felt the impact of her elbow slamming into his gut, doubling him over and driving the air from his lungs. The next blow went to his chin—from hardness and focus of the impact she must have gotten one of her shoes off and struck him with the heel—and snapped his head backwards. A final blow to the temple with her shoe sent him spinning into the pavement.

Dazed, Taylor struggled back to his feet and watched as Garner took off running barefoot along the street. As she passed the entrance to the alley several other men emerged, staring in bewilderment between Taylor and Garner as she charged past. He quickly pulled a phone from his pocket.

"Don't just stand there!" he snapped. "Go after her!"

The men took off in pursuit while he hastily dialed a number.

###

Melita fled down the street, her heart pounding in her throat at the realization she was being pursued. Another gang emerged around a corner, one talking on a phone, and shouted as they spotted her. She swore under her breath when they forced her to turn down an alley as they cut off her original line of flight.

_This wasn't a rape, these men were looking for _me_!_

They followed her in, and she could hear the pounding of their feet echoing in the alley as they closed in behind her. Up ahead the first group reappeared, blocking her in. Melita skidded to a halt, skinning the soles of her bare feet on the pavement, and immediately looked for a weapon from among the rest of the trash strewn about. She grabbed a broken curtain rod, and as soon as her assailants came within reach started swinging.

###

"This is unnecessary," Laura said, indicating the bags from Trash & Vaudeville she was carrying.

He glanced down at her in amusement, still chewing on his cigar. Logan didn't really get fashion, and there was much eye-rolling at some of what he had seen inside the two shops, but he decided her finding things that made her comfortable was worth it. However dark her personal style was, it still made her _happy _to have something of her own, or at least as close as he had seen her, and that was enough for him.

"You're kiddin' me, right?" he said. "You know the only people that wear the same thing every day are on TV and in comic books."

"I mean everything."

Logan sighed, guessing at her meaning.

"Yeah, it is necessary," he said. "You deserve better than what you've gotten, kid, and things I done are a big part of it."

"You were not responsible."

He gave her a significant look. "Neither were you, so…"

Logan trailed off, and both he and Laura froze. A fight had a distinct sound to it, ways that one could estimate how many were involved on each side, and even who was winning. The sounds of the one carrying to him now were particularly one-sided, and there was something familiar about one of the voices…

"Logan…" Laura started.

"Yeah, I hear it," he said. "C'mon." He hurried down the street, not needing to bother checking to see if Laura was keeping up with him.

###

Melita swung the curtain rod wildly. She managed to catch a couple of the thugs, knocking out teeth and bloodying noses, however there are too many for her and eventually they managed to overwhelm her. She snarled furiously as she fought against them, until a sharp blow to the stomach drove the air from her lungs. She felt another sharp impact to the side of her head, and for a moment the darkened alley vanished in a blinding flash of light.

She was distantly aware of the ground rushing up to meet her, and splitting open the skin of her knees and cutting her palms on the pavement. Then she felt herself roughly hauled back to her feet before another blow to the face put the last of the fight out of her.

The haze began to clear and she saw the man with the Yankees cap approach her, dabbing blood from his nose with his revolver in hand.

"Goddamn mutie-lover," he said, and she practically recoiled at the hatred in his voice.

His gun-hand flew, and the world exploded with light as he whipped her across the face. She felt the flesh of her cheek tear open as some part of the revolver made contact with skin, and the anger welling up over that was enough to snap her back to alertness. Melita recovered from the blow and spit the blood filling her mouth on him. It earned her another pistol-whipping, and this time she was left so dazed that she collapsed into the arms of the men holding her.

"Stupid bitch!" he snapped. "Betraying your own kind and running your mouth on shit you don't know anything about. It's time someone shut you up and put you back in your place."

The man raised his revolver and cocked back the hammer.

"I'd think twice, bub," a familiar voice said. Melita looked up, and through vision blurred from the blow to her head saw an equally familiar figure standing at the entrance to the alley. She managed a bloody smile.

Logan's face twitched with barely-restrained rage as he regarded the scene. A young girl of about sixteen or seventeen stood behind him, watching with an expression that almost seemed…bored. The leader of her assailants turned his revolver on him. Against most people, the gesture would have been suitably threatening.

Logan was not most people.

"This is none of your business," the man said. "Turn around, and walk away."

"You gonna make me?"

Without further hesitation Taylor fired his revolver. The round struck Logan in the chest and staggered him momentarily, but he only snarled in fury as his body pushed out the bullet and repaired the wound. A distinct metallic ring filled the alley as his claws extended, and everything else became deathly silent.

"That the best you can do, bub?"

"Get that mutie freak!" the man yelled, and his men grabbed whatever weapons they could find, forgetting her as they rushed Logan as a mob.

###

_Why do they always got to pull the trigger?_

His private musings didn't last long after he popped his claws, and rather than the hoped-for response of the thugs panicking into flight they grabbed any weapon that came to hand and attacked. Logan managed a small grin. And he thought he'd be spending most of the night babysitting.

"Get back," he said with a glance down at Laura.

"But…" she started in protest, and he made it clear he would have none of it.

"But's" nothin'," he said. "Don't want you to have to be part of this."

He knew damn well Laura could take care of herself against this group, but that was beside the point. She shouldn't _have_ to. She was just a goddamn kid, and shouldn't have to be part of situations like this.

Logan let that thought feed into the rage, the injustice of it mingled with the need to defend an old friend, stoking the flames roiling beneath the mask of calm. And then he unleashed it, wading into the gang as they rushed towards him, tearing through them with chilling ease.

The confines of the alley worked to his advantage. They couldn't circle around him, and the only way at him was a frontal attack. The men came expecting to beat up a lone, unarmed woman. What they _got_ was three-hundred-odd pounds of muscle, rage, and adamantium-laced death.

He stepped under a ferocious haymaker and slashed out the back of the man's knee, putting him into the pavement. Another came at him with a lead pipe. Logan cut it in two and smashed the wielder's face in with his elbow. He rolled through them with speed belying his size, his claws flashing in the dim light of the alley. Blood sprayed across the walls, arcing in brilliant crimson arcs, and the coppery scent of it filled the air.

For his part Logan made an effort to avoid killing blows, focusing his efforts on disabling weapons and limbs. A decade ago he would have slaughtered them without a second thought, but times had changed. _He _had changed. And the girl in his charge _needed_ to see that she could, too. Of course, self-preservation still took the lead over mercy, and a couple of the thugs went down with slashed necks and stabs to their chests.

The fight was over in moments, and soon he found himself standing over a pile of bodies. Most were still moving and groaning, crawling away or lying dazed at his feet.

"Logan!" Melita cried, and Logan immediately snapped his attention in her direction.

The man with the Yankees cap held her as a human shield with his revolver leveled at her temple. His eyes were wide with alarm as Logan started towards him.

"Stay back or I'll splatter her brains all over the wall!" the man barked, and made a show of pressing the muzzle against Melita's temple.

Logan didn't even check his pace, and gave him his best enraged scowl. "Oh, you _really_ don't want to be doin' that, bub," he snarled. "Your buddies got off easy. Pull that trigger and I'll cut you into little pieces and feed 'em back to you one by one."

The man tightened his grip on both Garner and his gun.

"I said stay b—"

He didn't have time to finish. A curtain rod struck the back of his outside knee, buckling it and driving him to the ground. His gun arm flew open as he fell in an effort to steady himself, and another blow shattered his wrist, sending the weapon clattering across the alley. A third strike to the back of his head put him down the rest of the way.

Laura emerged from behind Melita and stood over the man's prostrate form, holding the curtain rod in a relaxed guard at her shoulder. Logan had to admit being impressed. He didn't even see her move after the fight started, and she must have used the distraction to circle around behind him.

"Thought I told you to stay out of it?" he said instead, and retracted his claws. He _did_ tell her, after all.

"_Someone_ needed to secure the hostage," she said, as if it should have been blindingly obvious. "If it helps I did not kill him."

Logan conceded the point with an exasperated grunt and hurried the rest of the way across the alley to Melita, who was leaning against a wall and trying to steady herself.

"You alright," he asked as he reached her. She'd taken a few nasty blows to the side of the head, but otherwise seemed intact.

"I've got a splitting headache," she said. "But a couple aspirin and I'll be good as new. How've you been, baby?"

Logan smirked. "Same as ever. Been a while."

She smiled back. "Yes, it has. I can't tell you just how glad I am to see you're back in town, though." She looked at Laura. "So who's your little friend?"

"I joined Big Brothers, Big Sisters," he said dryly. "Figured I oughta be given' back to the community. She's my Little Sister."

Melita rolled her eyes, not quite believing his story. "Right," she said doubtfully.

He took a quick look over his shoulder as Laura deftly stepped around the thugs sprawled across the alley. Those that were able to regain their feet and were able promptly fled, leaving the rest of their comrades behind. "So who'd you piss off this time?"

She sighed and rubbed her cheek. A nasty gash had been cut across it, which would probably require more than a few stitches to close and a little bit of reconstructive surgery to hide. _Might talk to the Professor and see about having Josh sent over._

"I don't know," she said. "I'd just finished having dinner with some friends and was looking for a cab, and the next thing I know this guy's got a gun in my back. I managed to get away from him only to learn he had friends. Apparently he doesn't care much for my support for Mutant Rights."

"Yeah, I wonder…"

The man in the Yankees cap began to stir, and Logan stepped over to grab him, lifting him up and pinning him against the wall. He slapped his cheek to rouse him, and as the man returned to full consciousness he glared back at Logan with hate in his eyes.

"Hey, bub, wake up. So you just had your ass kicked by a ninety pound, seventeen year-old girl," he said. "That's gonna be the _high point_ of your evening if you don't cooperate, 'cause I'm thinking this wasn't just a random act of violence. Who sent you?"

"Screw you, freak," the man spat.

Logan sighed and made a show of his annoyance at that response. "Alright, I'll explain the rules to you. You got three chances…" He placed a fist under the man's chin, aimed at his throat, and extended the left claw. It left a shallow cut along the side of his neck and blood began to flow. "…and that was one. So let's try it again: Who sent you?"

The man just glared at him defiantly, so Logan popped the right claw, leaving matching trails of blood streaming down his neck.

"Strike two," he snarled. "Last chance: Who sent you?"

The man once again refused to respond. Logan sighed, and extended the third claw into his throat. His body jerked and blood bubbled from his mouth, and Logan let him collapse to the ground, where he began to bleed to death onto the pavement.

Laura regarded his handiwork impassively. "That was unproductive," she said flatly.

"Usually they talk after number two," he said with a shrug. "C'mon, let's get out of here before someone comes along. We'll go out the back end."

Laura retrieved her shopping bags while Logan returned to Melita. She made a show of protesting despite her difficulty maintaining her feet, before allowing herself to be supported as the trio exited the alley and hurried away from the scene.

###

They didn't need to go far, as there was a hospital nearby. A small but steady stream of patients and visitors moved in and out, and by the time they reached it Melita had sufficiently recovered that she could walk under her own power. A fact she had been repeating several times over the past fifteen or so minutes.

"How many times do I need to tell you, I'm _fine_," she protested.

Logan grunted. "Like hell you are," he said. "And make sure you report this."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. At least I can cover my own assault, maybe stir up at least a _little_ outrage."

He flashed her a wry grin. "Ain't that what got you into this in the first place?"

She smiled back. "It's what I do. So get going, I'm sure you two won't want to be around when questions start flying."

"Right. Take care, it's good to see you again."

"Maybe next time it'll be under better circumstances. Nice to meet you, Laura."

Melita offered Laura a hand. The girl hesitated uneasily a moment as she regarded it, then slowly accepted it in a brief handshake. Melita gathered Logan into a friendly hug and gave him peck on the cheek, before finally making her way towards the hospital entrance.

"Think we've had enough fun for one night," he said. "Let's get back and get you settled in."

They watched Melita go for a moment to make sure she made it inside without trouble, then Logan put an arm around the girl's shoulder and led her up the street for home.

###

Act V

###

The next morning found Cessily sitting on the couch in the lounge. Julian sat next to her idly spinning the remote control through the air, one hand glowing green as he manipulated it. They had a few minutes before they had to head to class, and Cessily wanted to catch the news. Julian didn't argue, and instead slumped in the couch next to her.

She glanced across to Julian, whose expression was downcast. By now most of the school had heard about his argument with Sofia, and as usual it had quickly escalated from a simple spat to the potential for wind and telekinetically-flung projectiles, and yet _another_ breakup. Oh, she was certain that by the end of the week the two would be back together. Again. But Julian's ego so rarely allowed him to actually _show_ when he'd been hurt that the times it did slip through made her hurt for him as well.

He didn't want to talk about it, of course, but he at least accepted a friendly comforting hug.

Cessily turned her attention back to the television, where Melita Garner sat at a desk with other newscasters, her injuries from the night before clearly evident on her face. With a handful of telepaths in the school it didn't take long before the news filtered down she had been attacked by anti-mutant extremists, before they in turn ran afoul of an angry Wolverine. The biggest surprise when she caught the actual report on TV this morning was that most of the assailants actually got off with their lives and limbs intact.

"…and how bad has the situation deteriorated when you have people being assaulted on a public street for voicing an opinion?" Garner was saying. Her face was battered and swollen in a few places, and she wore a bandage on her cheek, but the reporter had insisted on appearing anyway. Cessily admired the courage that showed, but she wondered if there was another purpose for it. She guessed that showing what had been done to her would create a bit of shock and outrage.

"The pattern we've been seeing in the past years is not unlike the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s," she continued, "Where gangs of thugs feel free to use threat of violence to incite fear and silence opposing voices.

"I'm only thankful that at least _one_ anonymous citizen realized what was happening and had the courage to come to my aid. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for showing that the capacity for doing the right thing isn't determined by race, religion or gender, mutant or not."

As Garner finished her report Laura entered the lounge, gliding in with complete silence and carrying her backpack on one shoulder. Cessily waved at her and smiled in greeting.

"Good morning!" she said cheerily. "How was your first night?"

"Uneventful," Laura said with a glance at the television.

Cessily regarded her for a moment. She'd heard from Sooraya that Logan would be taking Laura into town the night before, so almost certainly she would have seen the fight, but she waved the matter off. Laura _was_ just a kid, after all, and she knew Logan would never have taken her into a situation that would put her at risk. "That's good to hear. We'll have you completely settled in in no time. You've met Julian."

Laura's green eyes fixed on him for a moment, before returning to her. "Yes," she said.

"Can you even construct a sentence longer than one word?" Julian growled irritably. Cessily rolled her eyes. Julian no doubt was blaming his latest quarrel with Sofia on the new girl. As if to emphasize his displeasure, he sent the remote flying at Laura's head with a casual flick of the wrist. And she just as casually snatched it out of the air without even flinching.

Neither of them could do much more than stare open-mouthed for a moment at the speed of her reaction, and it was a moment before Cessily could find her voice.

"Julian! Do you have to be an ass _every_ waking minute of the day?" she snapped, giving him a sisterly swat to the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Laura."

Laura merely shrugged and casually tossed the remote back to Julian. He fumbled it, drawing an irritated murmur from him.

She watched him flail for control of the remote for a moment, then turned her attention back to Cessily. "I will be attending class with you this morning," she said.

Cessily smiled. "Hey that's great! There's an empty seat next to me. We have a lab today so I can help you get caught up. Julian and I just finished breakfast, so we can all head over together."

Julian shot Cessily an annoyed look at being volunteered, at which she flashed him a smirk. If Laura noted the exchange she didn't show it.

"Very well," she said. "We should go, I do not like to be late."

Cessily gleefully jumped off the couch, and practically dragged Julian with her. He managed a yelp of protest and stumbled until he caught up with her. "I just know you're going to love it here!" she said, giving the girl a broad smile.

"I will try," she said.

Cessily took Laura on one arm and Julian on the other, and ignoring Julian's exasperated expression lead the pair out of the lounge.

* * *

**A Note From The Author**

And here we see how the series begins. As I mentioned in the note at the top of the page, there's a bit of retconning with _X3_ going on here. Xavier and Cyclops are obviously alive, though Jean's death at the end of _X2_ stands. I tried to be deliberately vague enough that _The Wolverine _and _Days of Future Past_ could potentially fill in some gaps in the background, but most of this was written based on the state of the characters at the end of _X2_. Stryker's flashback was the result of rewatching the end of _X2_, which never _actually_ showed him being killed, so was my best effort at a plausible explanation how he could have survived.

The biggest difficulty of this series is the cast of the X-Films, which I would really want to use. Patrick Stewart is one of the awesomest guys on the face of the planet, and I have no doubts at all that he'd be totally game for reprising Xavier on the small screen. However I can't imagine anyone else as Wolverine than Hugh Jackman, which would probably take a _tremendous_ amount of the budget to bring on. I _had_ to include him, though, if for no other reason than to have a big guest-star to help launch the series, and of course I gave him a big part to play in the fourth act. Then again, you never know and Jackman (my impression of whom _is_ a pretty awesome guy, and certainly seems to enjoy himself) might be willing to do it just to have fun with it. Ellen Page is probably low-profile enough that it wouldn't be hard to get her to put in the occasional appearance as Kitty Pryde, and expect Rogue to pop up (Anna Paquin is already primarily a TV actress, so I'd imagine getting her to appear wouldn't be too hard). I'd _really_ like to rehab Cyclops after just how badly he was derailed in _X2_ and _X3_, but James Marsden might be in the same boat as Jackman: A bit too big to use frequently. I regret not giving him much time in this episode, but my original draft was actually in script format, and probably would have required trimming to fit in a 60-minute block as it was (so for reference, expect the other episodes to be about this length).

You've also now got a taste of how characters from the main Earth-616 continuity will be fit into the series. There's some definite departures right from the very start, but my aim is to stay as faithful to the characterizations as I can (for which I have some assistance, as I've not been an avid reader myself) while adapting the characters, their relationships, and their stories. I'm well-aware that Mark Sheppard and Laura Kinney never got the chance to interact, but in this universe I think there's potential to have some fun with how they _might_ have. There will be some other minor tweaks as well, but my intent is to avoid the drastic character derailment that occurred in _X3_, so any changes I make will try to have some sort of specific logic behind them.

Obviously, Laura is the main focus of this episode and is going to be one of the main characters of the series, and I'll admit that I'm an X-23 fan. I'm also well-aware of how troublesome of a character she can be. Laura is a game-breaker. Threats that might be at the limits of the rest of the kids' capabilities are trivial for her due to her training, so that's something I'll need to figure out. I'm also aware that her development has often been handled poorly in the books. Obviously this will just be _my_ take on her character, but I'm hoping that my treatment is able to both do justice to what is gotten _right_, while also rectifying many of the problems. Right away I decided I wanted to keep her nature as vague as possible for as long as possible, in part to keep her from overwhelming the rest of the cast. I don't even intend to write parts of any episodes from her perspective for most of the first "season" for this very reason. Remember, I'm not just writing this for people already familiar with the characters, but with the idea that it's for an audience who might know the X-Films but little else.

This episode also introduces about a third of the main cast. Because of its size, there may be some characters who don't appear in every episode.

Well, now that I've written an entire DVD commentary worth of notes, I hope you enjoyed the "Pilot." Stay tuned!


	2. 1x02 - Wallflower

1x02

Wallflower

###

Act I

###

The sun had not yet risen when Laurie Collins made her way through the empty lounge. The world beyond the windows on the Western wall was still dark, illuminated only by a few lights on the grounds, and the security lighting indoors provided just enough to see by as she crossed the room to avoid the couches, chairs and tables. Most of the student body was still asleep at this hour, though she'd heard some sort of commotion from one of the boys' dorms as she slipped out of the room she shared with Sofia.

For now, though, the school was hers alone, and Laurie relished the brief peace.

As she entered the dining hall, however, she paused, and wrung the tail of her sweater in her hands. The kitchen light was on and she could hear the sound of a pan sizzling on the stovetop, and the fragrance of cooking food and spices hung in the air. Laurie considered retreating back to the lounge until whoever was up had finished, but curiosity got the better of her. She took a firm hold over her powers to keep them under control, and peeked around the doorframe.

Laura stood over the stove with her back to her, her lithe figure clearly defined by a pair of black skinny jeans and a close-fitting tank top, with detached half-sleeves covering her arms from elbow to wrist. She was fiddling with a small pan, a bottle of Tabasco sauce at her elbow, and a number of other spices set out on the counter near at hand. She didn't appear to be following any sort of actual recipe, and it seemed to Laurie that she was adding whatever came to mind, particularly from the jar of red pepper.

Not the sort of encounter Laurie desired at this hour, she started to back away.

"Good morning, Laurie," Laura said flatly, without even turning. It had barely been a week, but the girl's habit of greeting people approaching her in such a manner, when she spoke to them at all, was already proving unnerving to her classmates.

"Good morning," she replied hesitantly. "I didn't mean to disturb you…" Excuse given, Laurie prepared to retreat.

"You did not."

Laurie chewed her lip, the offered explanation for bolting declined. "Oh, ok, good," she said instead. "Um…what are you doing up so early?"

"Making eggs," she said. Laura tasted them as she responded, then stirred in a generous amount of Tabasco sauce before letting them simmer a little while longer.

"Yes, I see that," Laurie said, still not accustomed to the other's habit of short and obvious responses. "But why at four in the morning?"

"You are awake as well," Laura noted. She took another experimental bite, and satisfied with the result turned off the burner. Laura scooped her eggs onto a plate and cleaned up her mess before making her way to the kitchen table to eat.

"Oh… Well, I kind of like it at this time of day," she said as she went about finding her own breakfast. "It's less busy in here. And you didn't answer my question."

Laura hesitated as she prepared to take a bite, and watched Laurie fix herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk.

"No, I did not," she said.

Laurie winced at the brusque dismissal of her question, stung by the other's rejection of friendly conversation. She was _trying_ to help her feel at home, after all. As if in response Laura's own expression turned sorrowful.

"Please, do not do that," Laura said.

Laurie looked away from her bowl in confusion. "Do what…?" Laurie trailed off in sudden realization that her grip on her power had faltered after the other girl's dismissal of her question. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, sometimes it just…happens."

She concentrated to regain control, and Laura's expression returned to her typical stoniness. The two resumed eating in awkward silence for a few minutes, before Laura finally spoke again.

"I am here for much the same reason," she said quietly.

Laurie paused mid-bite and glanced up at her. Laura's voice had been so quiet she barely heard her over her own chewing. "What's that?"

"I prefer the solitude."

"Oh," Laurie said. "Some of the others have been giving you a hard time, huh?"

Laura did not answer, and just went on eating her eggs. Laurie watched her for a moment before the silence started to make her a bit jumpy.

"Sofia mentioned it," she continued, more out of a need to fill the quiet than anything. "It's kind of her thing to try and help everyone be friends, you know? But I've…uh…I've been the new girl, too, so I know it can be kind of hard to, well, to _belong_."

Laura merely shrugged and continued eating, leaving her to fidget uneasily in the silence.

"That's…uh…that's a pretty locket," she said after a few more minutes. The other paused and self-consciously reached up to finger the locket hanging from the choker around her neck. "I've noticed you never take it off. Um, not that I'm trying to pry, or anything."

A distant look passed across Laura's green eyes. "It was a gift. From…" She trailed off with a nearly imperceptible hitch in her voice. For a moment Laurie's control over her power slipped under the brief surge of emotion from the other girl, and she felt…_pain_. It took a great effort to regain control and prevent the sensation from overwhelming her. "They were important to me," Laura continued, and just as quickly the distant look was gone and the expressionless mask was back in place.

Laurie ran her fingers through her blonde locks in an effort to steady herself from what she had just felt. "A boy?" she asked.

"No."

"Think about it, Laurie," came a tired and familiar voice behind her. "Can you imagine the queen of darkness getting cuddly with _anyone_?"

Laurie glanced over her shoulder as Julian entered the kitchen, bleary-eyed, his black hair and clothes—something pretentious from somewhere equally pretentious she really didn't care about—an uncharacteristic mess, as if he had not slept at all. He headed for the refrigerator and began digging through it.

She scowled at him, his unexpected arrival taxing her control. "That's…that's not nice, Julian," she snapped. "What are _you_ doing up, anyway? Don't we have a class in a couple hours?"

"We're running a big all-school _Team Fortress_ tournament," he said. "Hey, have you seen that case of Bawls Victor picked up last night?"

Laurie glanced at Laura, who ignored his comment and continued eating.

"I think it's at the back of the bottom shelf. How come we weren't invited?"

"Well, you never play," he said. "And there's no powers allowed, which makes you a bit of a wildcard in a group."

Laurie's mouth hung open at the accusation. "That's not fair!"

Julian emerged from the refrigerator with the case of Bawls triumphantly in hand and set it on the countertop. He leaned against it and folded his arms across his chest with a patient expression that still didn't help ease the sting of being excluded. "So's scrambling the emotions of the competitors during a tournament. And as for her…" he nodded towards Laura. "No one wants her around, anyway. And what the hell are you eating, it stinks!"

Laura just ignored him. When Julian saw no answer was forthcoming, his hand began to glow and he telekinetically ripped the fork from her and sent it flying across the kitchen.

"Hey, Wednesday, I'm talking to you," he snapped irritably.

"Julian!" Laurie said in shock.

"Excuse me," Laura said, pushing away from the table and hurrying from the kitchen. Laurie gasped as the sheer weight of the _hurt_ of Julian's actions washed over her as Laura passed, overwhelming her ability to filter out the wave of pain, and tears filled her eyes. She only just managed to avoid breaking down crying entirely, and it took some moments for her to regain control.

Julian grabbed a clean fork and dropped into Laura's vacated seat. "God she is such a freak," he said.

Laurie glared at him, still struggling to regain her composure. "I should make you feel that, you ass," she said.

"Oh give me a break, you know she's just a robot."

Laurie wasn't sure what made her angrier at him, that he'd hurt the other girl's feelings at all, or how callously he dismissed that she even _had_ them. It took all of her focus to hold back her pheromones and not level him with a concentrated blast of Laura's _pain_.

Julian took a bite of what remained of Laura's eggs. Almost immediately his eyes began watering and he frantically fanned his mouth, sucking in air in an attempt to stop the burning. "What the hell did she put in these?" he managed as he vainly tried to suck in enough air to cool his mouth. Laurie rolled her eyes and passed him her glass of milk, which he quickly drained.

"Serves you right!" she snapped, and in a huff she pushed away from the kitchen table and left him there with a bewildered expression on his face.

"What'd I say?" she heard him call to her back.

###

Act II

###

Dawn came bright and clear, the sun shining through the windows of her room along with a cool early autumn breeze. Noriko Ashida stood in front of her bedroom mirror, artfully arranging the fall of her electric-blue hair, turning her head one way and then another as she checked for spots where the dye needed retouching, and smiled in satisfaction. By the time she finished grooming Sooraya had already covered her head with her _niqab_ and was straightening out the folds of her _abaya_. Nori rolled her eyes at the sight and sat on the edge of her bed while she slipped on her shoes. Sooraya gave her a flat look.

"What is it?" she asked impatiently.

"Nothing," Nori said in her Japanese-accented English, standing again to adjust the fit of her low-waisted jeans and short-cropped tee, showing off the toned abdomen and arms she took great care to keep up on. Her gauntlets remained problematic as ever, but unfortunately it was either wear them and ruin the look, or spend the day a babbling and incoherent mess.

"You are thinking it again."

She gave Sooraya an exasperated sigh, and let the thought she had been keeping out in the open. "I just don't get it," Nori said. "You're free here to be…well, whatever you want to be, but you insist on clinging to this?" She waved at the _abaya_.

Sooraya folded her arms across her chest. "And what _is_ this?"

"It's barbaric and demeaning is what it is," Nori said.

She shook her head. "Then you do not understand at all."

"No, I understand. I mean seriously, they make you cover yourself and hide your face from your friends out in public? I don't know how much more dehumanizing that can be."

Sooraya raised an eyebrow. "As opposed to a society that tells you that you should step out in public barely-dressed at all?" Her eyes hardened. "'They' do not make me do anything. I _choose_ what to believe. I am happy that I need not be overly concerned by what others think of my appearance, and perhaps I find comfort in knowing the boys of this school judge me for who I _am_, not how much of my body I show to them."

Nori's jaw dropped, and she glared back. "Wait, did you just…" Words failed her for a moment and she lapsed into a string of Japanese invective. She glared and balled her fists, and the room's lights flickered as she felt the power she drew in from every appliance and outlet in the room begin to dance across her skin. "Are you calling me what I think you're calling me," she continued once her English caught back up with her.

The other's expression softened. "I am calling you nothing. I do not judge you, Nori. I merely ask that you offer me the same respect in return."

She was about to say something suitably virulent in response when there was a knock at the door. Nori scowled at her instead and let the argument die, and allowed her gauntlets to absorb and disperse the energy she had gathered before heading to answer it. Seeing the dark-skinned face looking back at her as she stepped into the hall effectively squashed any lingering anger.

"Hey," she said, throwing her arms around David Alleyne's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Good morning," he replied, his voice colored by his thick Chicago accent, as they parted. "Guess I showed up just in time."

She smirked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"All the lights in this hallway were flickering. You and Sooraya didn't get into it again, did you?"

"Ugh, you should have heard what she called me," she said as he put an arm around her and walked her down the hall and past the other dorm rooms.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm _sure_ Sooraya, of all people, started calling you names first."

"I just don't get how she can willingly follow a faith that treats women that way."

"Right, because it's not like Christianity doesn't have denominations that do the same, or that it hasn't happened at any time in Japanese history," he said dryly. Nori scowled at him at that. "Have you ever actually _read_ Sharia?"

She rolled her eyes. "What difference does it make?"

"The difference is the _letter_ of the law versus the _application_ of the law. Even in _this_ country the former has often been at the mercy of the latter." David pushed his glasses up as they threatened to slip down his nose. "The Constitution says that all of us are equal, and yet _we_ often find ourselves fighting for our right to even exist, merely because the law never specified what is to be done with mutants. It's the same thing you see with extremist elements in _any_ society."

They reached the end of the hall and turned towards the main staircase leading down to the ground floor. Someone was sitting on the top step, huddled against the railing with her legs pulled up tight against her chest, watching the flow of traffic as students made their way up and down the stairs or passed through the hall below.

Laura didn't greet them as they approached, though Nori didn't doubt she already knew they were coming before they reached her. She consciously pulled David to the opposite side of the staircase, so she could pass as far from the other girl as she could. Laura gave no outward sign of noticing, but Nori caught, or at least _thought_ she caught, a flash of green eyes snapping her way before returning to sweep the floor below.

"What was that about?" David asked, glancing back over his shoulder at Laura.

Nori shuddered. "Nothing. She just gives me the creeps is all. She almost never talks, and when she does it's often just…weird."

He shrugged. "You could try and get to know her."

She rolled her eyes. "Please. Sooraya and Cessily try and it never gets them anywhere. She's an absolute freak."

David regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "As opposed to…?"

"Oh come on, David, you know what I mean. The whole Goth thing, the sitting at the top of the stairs just _watching_ everyone. It freaks me out."

They reached their destination, the classroom in the West wing, and Nori gave David a quick kiss on the cheek. "Anyway, I better get in there," she said. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun," David said, giving her a kiss back. "I'll see you at lunch."

Nori played with the collar of his button-down shirt as she reluctantly parted from him, and waved over her shoulder as she entered the classroom.

###

Kevin Ford made his way across the lounge, long black jacket flapping around him like an angry cloud, dressed all in black synthetics from black tee to pants to boots. His long brown hair fell across his face as he walked, and for now he let it hang there, obscuring his features. The other students steered well clear of him, and he might have been more bothered by it if he wasn't so accustomed to the treatment. The school was supposed to be a place where anyone could feel welcome, but that didn't mean it didn't have its share of outcasts.

And just because he was accustomed to it, that still didn't mean it didn't suck to be treated like a walking plague.

Kevin exited the lounge into the formal sitting room. His first class wasn't for another couple hours yet, but he still had a good bit of work to do to finish his project, and he wanted an early start. Julian hadn't been happy he had to withdraw from his tournament, but he needed to be sharp and fresh this morning.

He turned towards the school's main entry hall and paused when he saw Laurie coming down the stairs from the dorms on the second level above. Hands in his pockets, Kevin started back to meet her. She sidestepped the new girl, Laura, who was watching traffic from above (_Speaking of outcasts…_) and made her way down, shrinking into her sweater and trying to stay as far from everyone else as she could.

"Hey," he said, and flashed a smile when she reached the landing.

Laurie managed a smile in return. "Good morning," she said.

"You look great this morning." He brushed the hair away from his face to see her better, and his smile broadened as she blushed shyly.

"Thank you." She chewed her lower lip a moment, before she spoke again. "I thought you didn't have class for a couple hours?"

Kevin leaned against the railing of the staircase, arms folded across his chest and ankles crossed. "I don't, but I had some work to do."

"Oh, that's right, you've got that project for Ms. Guthrie due today. How…how's it coming?"

"It's pretty much done, I just had a bit of polishing up to do. Would you like to see it?"

"Maybe…um…maybe later," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "I was on my way to class and I can't be late again."

"Oh," he said, stumbling a bit at that. "Well, ok, maybe later. I'd like to make sure it's finished first, anyway."

"Ok, I really would like to see it," she said. "I…uh…I better go, Dr. McCoy likes to start right away. I'll see you later."

"Right." Kevin stuck his hands into his pockets as she started on her way again. "See you later."

Laurie shuffled past him and he turned to watch her as she disappeared around the corner and headed down the hall leading to the West classroom. Kevin sighed heavily, staring after her for a moment before continuing on his own way again, heading out the front doors and stepping into the courtyard beyond.

The scents of fall were thick on the air, and the breeze was cool and fresh. A few students stood around the courtyard, and he ignored them as he made his away along one of the paved walkways to an outbuilding nestled away in a quiet corner of the grounds. In the past it had been used to store equipment for the groundskeepers, but Kevin had been permitted to repurpose it into a workshop. A pile of scrap metal was stacked up against one outside wall, covered by a heavy plastic tarp to protect it from the weather, though Kevin wasn't too concerned about rust. The best materials he kept inside, anyway, and this pile was comprised mostly of stuff he rejected but didn't want to throw out quite yet on the off-chance he might find some use for it.

A large sliding door—Kevin guessed a riding mower had been stored there at some point—secured by a padlock occupied most of one side, which he unlocked as he made his way in. He closed the door behind him again to shut out the sounds of the world outside.

The inside of the shed was stuffy and musty after the walk through the fresh autumn air. Saws, files, heavy cutters, hammers, coils of wire a blowtorch, arc welder and a welder's mask were carefully arranged on a table along one wall or hung from a peg board above it among other tools, and the best of his scrap was carefully stowed in another corner, smaller pieces sorted into plastic tubs, larger pieces stood upright against the walls. A workbench for finer work occupied the wall next to the storage tubs, and his prized possession, an industrial-weight saw he scavenged from a junkyard and had rebuilt was tucked away in another corner. In the middle of the shed, on a heavy metal dolly, stood his latest work, once a collection of random pieces of scrap, now hammered and welded into the elaborate and abstract form of a man and woman dancing. Piles of trash turned into a thing of beauty.

He regarded the sculpture, studying the lines of the woman's arms and shoulders as they flowed into the form of her partner, her stylized gown of twisted metal floating in the air around her. Here and there he saw a piece that needed a small adjustment: file off a bit of material on an arm, adjust the curve of another piece on her partner's body. He didn't quite like the angle of either figure's head, and there was an empty space that seemed to be in need of filling.

Kevin shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on a hook near the door, grabbed his mask and blowtorch and lit it, and turned to his work.

###

Laurie slunk down in her chair in the back corner of the classroom, as far from the other students as its confines allowed her and not particularly paying attention to the lesson. The class was rather small, only about a dozen students giving her plenty of space away from the others, but even then her control was strained. She hugged herself, focusing her attention on the rough texture of her sweater to distract her mind from the invisible barrage she endured.

Most people didn't give a thought to the pheromones their bodies naturally gave off in response to their emotional states, as human evolution had largely turned away from the scents and chemical triggers their ancestor species relied on for communication. They were still present, but they and the human ability to detect them had atrophied into a vestige of their animal past.

For Laurie it was a constant assault on her senses, a quirk of the manifestation of her power and body chemistry she had to fight to keep under control.

She glanced across the room to the opposite corner. Josh Foley sat there, and she spent a few moments studying features she imagined would fit perfectly on the lead of any teen drama on television: Intelligent blue eyes focused on the board as he leaned forward in his chair, intent on the lesson. Blonde hair, not _quite_ so trendily-styled as Julian's, but still nicely groomed. He must have caught her looking his way out of the corner of his eye, as he turned his head slightly to look back at her. Laurie shyly turned away at the first flicker of motion, fighting to keep the embarrassment from her face and struggling even _harder_ to control her pheromones and keep them from leaking into the classroom.

In the middle of the room Julian leaned on one fist, nodding in an effort to keep awake. An angry cloud hung around him; his team had lost the tournament he had been up all night playing. Nori sat some rows ahead of him wearing a wistful expression, her lingering excitement over her lass kiss with David almost as powerful to Laurie as she had once overheard Logan dryly comment her perfume was to his nose.

She sighed and glanced at Josh again, her mind threatening to wander until she forcibly redirected her attention to the lesson once more, silently wishing the class would end.

###

The students filed out of the classroom and Laurie hung back, allowing everyone else to leave before she departed. She braced herself and stepped out into the hall, and was nearly knocked flat by the barrage of emotion outside. She gasped, willing herself to maintain control, and after a few moments the assault passed as she filtered out the rest of the feelings around her, focusing on herself, an island in the middle of the storm.

Somewhere off to the left she heard the booming voice of Santo Vacarro.

"Watch where you're going, will you?" he said. Laurie glanced in that direction and saw Laura thrown down onto her backside against a wall, the big mutant standing over her after an apparent collision. Julian stood next to him snickering, and several of the other students in the hall watched the altercation with amusement. Sooraya and Cessily were both there in a flash, the former helping Laura back to her feet while Cessily's slender, silver figure interposed herself between them.

"Watch out yourself," she snapped. "That was on purpose and you know it."

Laurie felt a rustle like a cool breeze stir her finer hairs and tug gently at the hem of her skirt, and for a blissful moment the assault of all the emotions around her relented. Sofia stepped up beside her and glowered down the hall to where Cessily was delivering a vicious dressing down to the walking rock pile and his partner in crime.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Laurie frowned. "Julian and Santo are harassing the new girl again."

Sofia muttered a bit of Spanish invective. "He just doesn't get it. I don't know why I ever even bothered with him."

Laurie looked at her again, her emotions unreadable, and she smiled inwardly as Sofia's power rippled outward, a gust of wind blowing away the collective pheromones of the dozen-odd students hanging in the air around them. For a moment, at least, she could have a conversation like a _normal_ person.

"Are you ok?" she asked, coloring slightly at the thought she might be intruding on a personal matter Sofia wouldn't want to discuss with her.

"I'm fine," Sofia responded sharply. Laurie recoiled and her control faltered, but Sofia's grip on her own power harmlessly dispersed the released pheromones. Her expression softened as she realized her answer was harsher than she intended. "Julian can just be such a jerk, and it drives me crazy."

Laurie hugged herself. "He…he cares about you," she said, uncertain whether to get involved.

Sofia leaned her head against the wall. Up ahead Sooraya had Laura back on her feet and led her away from Santo and Julian, while Cessily maintained a rearguard to prevent the situation from escalating further. "I know." She let out a growl of annoyance and butted her forehead against the wall. "That's part of why it's so frustrating. I _know_ he can be a good person, and maybe he's even grown up a little since we first met, but he can still be such a _child_ sometimes."

"Have…uh…have you _talked_ to him about how you feel?"

Sofia stopped thumping her head against the wall and gave her a sidelong look. "Every damn day."

"I mean…without the yelling." Sofia raised an eyebrow, and Laurie shied away into her sweater. "It's just…It seems every time you two have a disagreement it starts to get loud."

"We're just so _different_," Sofia said, turning to press her back against the wall and bouncing her fists off it in frustration. "Maybe it's how we were raised. Did you know when I came to this country, my father wanted nothing to do with me? Our _butler_, Derek, bless him, showed more concern for my well-being than my own father, and it was a fight just to get him to acknowledge that I was even his daughter in the first place. He arranged _two_ paternity tests! But Julian is always going on about how _his_ parents didn't abandon him, and how he's here by choice. It's like he thinks it makes him so superior to everyone else.

"All his life he got to have everything he ever wanted. In Caracas I had my mother and that was enough, and then she was killed…" Sofia trailed off, tears forming in her eyes that she quickly fought down, a subtle gust of her power scattering the instinctive release of pheromones undetectable to everyone but Laurie.

"My uncle could not take care of me, so I was sent away to my father. Oh, sure, he provided a comfortable life for me, but it was not my father's _money_ I cared about," she continued after a moment. "That was all he was interested in sharing, because he had his business and that was all he really wanted. I wanted a _family_. Derek helped, but this…" She reached out and laid a hand on Laurie's shoulder, giving her a smile. "This is my family now. But Julian treats it like it's a private club and that he can exclude anyone who he does not want to be part of it. He's such a _brat_."

Sofia folded her arms across her chest and leaned her head against the wall again. "I don't know." She sighed. "I _do_ still like being around him, because he _can_ be sweet and thoughtful if he wants to. When he's not being an ass, that is, which on some days is more frequent than others." she said.

She looked over Laurie's head towards where Julian stood against the wall, laughing with Santo. Laurie turned that direction as well, and saw Josh coming towards them. She abruptly looked away.

"Good morning, Sofia," he said as he approached. "Hey, Laurie."

"Good morning," Sofia said.

Laurie shrunk shyly towards Sofia and couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him. "H-hey, Josh," she managed. The butterflies dancing around in her stomach were doing their absolute best to break her control over her powers.

"You and Julian still aren't talking, huh?" he asked Sofia.

"No, we're not. And if he sent you in his place you can just go back and tell him if he intends to apologize he better grow a pair and do it to my face."

Josh recoiled from the heat in her voice and raised his hands protectively. "What? No, he didn't. Believe me, I don't think even _Santo_ is willing to stand in the line of fire. Large things tend to start moving at high velocities when you two get into it."

Laurie giggled. She wasn't even sure why she thought the remark was funny, but hearing it come from Josh… Her thoughts trailed off at the looks from the other two at her reaction, and her face colored.

"Anyway, no, Julian didn't send me. I, uh, was actually coming over to see what Laurie thought of Dr. McCoy's lab assignment."

Her eyes widened in alarm, and once again Sofia and Josh were only saved from her pheromones by the gentle breeze emanating from Sofia. "Um…" She blushed furiously as words failed her for a moment. "I, uh, I don't know if I really understood it."

If Josh noted her flustered reaction he didn't show it, and Laurie was unsure if that put her more at ease or not. "Dr. McCoy can be hard to follow but I think I got it. He said we're free to group up on it, and I was wondering if you'd like to get together later to look it over?"

Laurie's heart practically leapt into her throat at that, and any pretense of maintaining control over her powers failed her in a rush. The pheromones surged out of her, and only a stiff gust from Sofia spared the other two from her reaction. "You…you mean tonight? I…uh…I don't know…"

Sofia gave her a knowing smirk and looked to Josh. "That means she would _love_ to."

Laurie gawked at her, appalled at the betrayal, but Josh only smiled. "Would you like to meet in the library after dinner? Maybe seven o'clock?"

Overwhelmed, Laurie found herself nodding. "I…uh…I don't know…um…ok?"

Josh's grin broadened. "Ok, I'll see you then."

"Ok," she squeaked, as Josh walked away. Laurie spit Sofia with her best "who-asked-you?" look as her limbs started to tremble.

Sofia rolled her eyes in amusement. "Oh come on, sweetie. _Everyone_ sees how you get around him."

"H-how do you know it's not just my power…?" she began, knowing what Sofia's counter would be even before she finished the protest.

"Because I spent the entire time just now blowing your pheromones away," she said, confirming Laurie's suspicions. "_Don't worry_, it will be fine."

Laurie glared. "No it _won't_. I don't want…" she hesitated a moment, unsure whether to voice the fear that helped to push her away from her friends. Sofia at least could protect herself, and Cessily was immune—well, not that she _really_ considered Cessily a friend—but the others…

Sofia looked at her expectantly. "Don't want what?" she asked.

Laurie fought back the tears threatening to well up. "I have to go, I have another class in a few minutes," she said instead and hastily retreated, fighting to maintain control of her power.

###

Act III

###

The lounge was a bit fuller than Laurie would have liked, but her growling stomach reminded her that biological needs trumped her desire to retreat back to the solitude of her room during her lunch break. Several students had pooled their money together to order pizza, and a knot were now formed around Mark's stereo, talking and laughing over their lunch while a fast dance number pounded out. Mark flickered the lights in that part of the lounge off and on like a strobe light through the music's influence on his powers.

She saw Nori there as well, dragging a reluctant David over to join her and moving with him in a way Laurie was certain would appall her mother if she had been watching. Julian and Victor stood towards the edge of the group, and found particular amusement in watching Santo's massive rocky form attempting to move in time to the music.

With most of the students present gathered in that corner of the lounge the rest was blissfully empty, allowing her a measure of relief from the barrage of emotion around her. She kept to the edge of the lounge as she made her way to the kitchen to retrieve her own lunch—she decided to make a sandwich with some of the leftover chicken from last night—and found a quiet, out of the way corner alone when she returned to the lounge.

A few other students trickled in while she ate. Cessily joined in with the others around the pizza, and she was followed a few minutes later by Sooraya, who declined an invitation before heading for the kitchen. A few moments later she returned with leftovers from the _halal_ restaurant in Salem Center, and seeing Laurie sitting alone made her way over.

"Good afternoon, Laurie," Sooraya said pleasantly. Laurie could feel the calm welcome rolling off her, and for a moment allowed it to wash over her like a soothing wave.

"Hello," Laurie said.

"May I join you?"

Laurie nodded, reluctantly forcing herself to cut off her power. Sooraya took a seat partway around the table and opened her takeout box. "How has your morning been?" Sooraya asked.

She shrugged. "Classes are ok. Josh…um…Josh asked me to work with him on Dr. McCoy's lab tonight," she said between bites of her sandwich.

Sooraya lifted her _niqab_ slightly to slip a bite to her mouth. Laurie watched for a moment, fascinated by her skill at managing the juggling act she endured when eating in public. When she realized she was staring she blushed fiercely and returned her attention to her own meal. "Yes, I heard," Sooraya said.

Laurie's face heated even more, and she had to make a conscious effort to keep her power under control. "You…um…you know?"

She nodded. "Sofia mentioned he asked you and that you agreed." The corners of Sooraya's eyes, all that Laurie could see behind her _niqab_, wrinkled as she smiled. "I think it is wonderful you two will be spending time together."

Her cheek twitched, and she hastily took another bite of her sandwich. "I…uh…I didn't… Sofia agreed for me," she said.

"But you did wish to, yes?"

Laurie chewed her lower lip. "I…" Well, that was just it. She _did_ want to say yes, but how could she? No matter how much she wanted to, she _couldn't_ actually go, could she?

Sooraya noticed the consternation on her features and leaned towards her. "What is it? What's the matter?"

She felt a tear begin to roll down her cheek, and it wasn't until she saw the spreading of moisture darkening Sooraya's _niqab_ that she realized her grasp over her power had failed. Laurie struggled to regain control and wiped the tears from her own face. For her part Sooraya didn't show any sign she was aware of being affected, from which Laurie took a small measure of comfort. "_I_ am," she said. "I…I don't think I can do it."

"Why not?"

"Because of _me_!" she blurted out, dropping her sandwich and burying her face in her hands. "I…I'm afraid of…me…of what I could…might…do." Laurie took a ragged breath. "It's so hard to control myself, and if I'm around him I might… I don't want to do that to him."

Sooraya's dark eyes gazed sympathetically at her. "I think you have been doing a marvelous job controlling your power. We all slip from time to time, you should not be ashamed of it."

"I can't _be_ around people, Sooraya! Even when it's just one or two… If I stop concentrating for even a moment…"

Sooraya reached out and gently took her by the hand. "When you first came here, you would not even leave your room until Sofia practically dragged you out of it by the hand."

"I know," she said. Laurie hugged herself with her free hand.

"Control comes with practice," Sooraya said. "Had you remained in your room, you would never have developed the control you have now." The corners of her eyes wrinkled again as she smiled. "Do you remember the first night she convinced you to come to Salem Center with us, when we went to the movies?"

Laurie managed a laugh. "Julian was trying to score points with her, so insisted we all go to that _horribly_ sappy romance she wanted to see."

"You made the _entire _cinema cry, and not just our theater. Even the people managing the box office and the concession stand. Even _Santo_. Julian and Victor would not let him hear the end of it for weeks! And every morning he would wake up with a box of tissues next to his bed."

She smiled. "The movie wasn't even all that good."

"But look at how far you've come since then. You can walk into a room now, and even if you must make an effort you can maintain control. For which I am certain Santo is grateful."

Laurie slipped her hand away from Sooraya's and picked up her sandwich, while Sooraya deftly maneuvered another bite of her own lunch under her _niqab_. "I know," she said. "But I…I'm afraid that if I'm tempted to, I might…"

"All of us are tempted in our lives," Sooraya said. "What matters is how we _face_ that temptation. I believe that you have grown strong enough to resist it."

Laurie considered her words and nodded stiffly. But as she resumed eating doubt continued to gnaw at her. What if Sooraya was wrong? What if she turned out to be like…like _him_? She couldn't—_wouldn't_—do that to Josh. Laurie knew he would never forgive her if she did.

She would never forgive _herself_.

###

"So she's still not talking to you, huh?" Victor said.

Julian tore his eyes away from the absurd sight of Santo's massive bulk trying to keep up with the song blaring on Mark's stereo, the floor practically shaking with each ponderous step and a stark contrast to the smooth movements of…well, everyone else. Victor Borkwoski, the thousands of tiny, shiny green scales covering his skin glistening in the flashing lights of the lounge, folded his arms across his chest and watched the big mutant's awkward movements with an amused smirk. Ridges of short, sharp spikes covered his scalp instead of hair, and aside from general body plan and proportions his brown eyes were his only identifiably human feature.

"No, she's not," he said, and scowled as the reminder made him forget any amusement he was taking from Santo's failed attempts to impress the girls gathered around the impromptu pizza party with his "moves."

Julian turned his attention back to the others. Nori had to practically drag David away from the crowd to get him to dance, but his power quickly made him probably the best on the floor, and he soon put even Mark to shame. Cessily laughed as Santo stumbled about, then took pity on him and joined him in the middle of the group. Her efforts didn't improve the big mutant's dancing, but at least he looked less awkward with a partner.

"You could always try apologizing," Victor said.

He spit him with a glare. "For _what_?"

Victor shrugged. "I don't know, I imagine there's plenty of things to pick from. Being yourself, to start with."

"_She_ broke up with _me_, and you think _I_ should be the one to apologize?"

"Just why did she break up with you again?"

Julian let out a snarl of frustration. Deep down he knew Victor was right. He'd said things he shouldn't have in their last fight, but sheer stubborn pride refused to allow him to acknowledge it. "Why am I even talking to you about this?" he said instead. "What would you know about women, and when was the last time you even had a _boyfriend_?"

Victor shook his head and chuckled. "First, I actually listen. You'd be amazed what you can learn when you do. Second, it's not my fault the options here are limited. Unless you're offering seeing as you're available now…"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're funny. And how am I supposed to listen when she won't even talk to me in the first place?"

Victor chuckled. "You could always try that thing with the boom box from _Say Anything_."

Julian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did you really just give me advice based on an '80s movie?"

"Well, either it will get her attention, or just creep her out and drive her away for good. Either way the rest of us will get to stop hearing you whine about it, so it's win-win."

The song ended, and Santo struck an awkward pose that had the entire gathering but Julian breaking out in raucous fits of laughter. "Thank you! Thank you!" he said, sketching a bow before retreating from the floor when Mark switched to a slower number. The big mutant lumbered over. "Hey, sweetheart," he said when he noticed Victor. "Bet you couldn't keep your eyes off my sweet moves."

"Oh, that was deliberate?" Victor said. "I thought we'd need to call an ambulance. For when you fell over and crushed Cessily, not from the seizure you were having."

Cessily, her polished skin reflecting the strobing lounge lights, which Mark slowed with his power to match the tempo of his next song selection, smirked as she joined them. "It was kind of like watching the dancing hippos from _Fantasia_, wasn't it?"

"I think the hippos were more graceful."

Santo harrumphed. "You're just jealous that I've got it. I didn't see _you_ out there."

"That was in the interest of self-preservation. A guy could get killed with the way you were stomping around. Besides, someone needed to keep Julian company."

The big mutant rolled his eyes. "He's _still_ moping?"

Julian glared. "I'm not moping."

"You've been surly and bitter all morning," Victor said.

"Because I was up all night, and I _still_ say that Nori cheated by inviting David to sub for Kevin last-minute in the finals. He doesn't even _like_ the game, and don't tell me he didn't use his skill-snatching. This was supposed to be a no-powers tourney."

Victor flashed him an amused smirk. "Do you really think that _David_ of all people would cheat at a video game? Same guy who insists on _not_ using his power in all of his classes and _still_ has a 4.0 average?"

"Nori would if it meant beating me." He glared towards where she and David were dancing, her head leaning on his shoulder. The green aura formed around Julian's hand, and he grabbed a can of Coca-Cola from one of the nearby tables, floating it over the heads of the crowd.

"Hey, would you grab me one while you're at it," Cessily said. Julian rolled his eyes in annoyance. He handed the can over to her and flicked one glowing finger to open it before retrieving another for himself. "Thanks."

"Next time no substitutions," he said, popping open his own can and taking a drink. "If a team is short because someone missed their bedtime they either play short or forfeit."

"Can you imagine what he could accomplish if he took _everything_ that seriously?" Victor said.

Julian glared, but the retort forming on his lips died as Sofia walked into the lounge. She took one look towards the gathering around the pizza, saw him there, and abruptly turned away and made her way along the edge of the lounge to a table in a far corner where Sooraya was having lunch with Laurie.

"She did it again," he said.

Victor groaned. "Come _on_, just give it a rest already."

Julian took a long drink from his soda. "No, to hell with this, I'm done being avoided."

"Don't you dare go over there right now, you're just going to piss her off again," Cessily said.

"Who asked you? This is between me and Sofia."

"I'm warning you, Julian. You both need time to _cool down_."

"I _am_ cool. I couldn't _be_ any cooler."

"Oh yeah, _totally_ cool," Santo said, smiling broadly. "This ought to be good."

Julian glared. "You. Stay."

"Aw." Santo visibly, and exaggeratedly, deflated at the thought he wouldn't get to watch.

Cessily sighed and buried her face in one hand. "Well this is going to end well."

Julian flashed her a dirty look as he stepped away. He carefully measured his stride as he crossed the lounge, finishing the rest of his soda as he approached the table Sofia shared with Laurie and Sooraya. Sofia sat with her back to him, but her two tablemates both saw him coming. He couldn't tell if either said anything, but if not the sudden distress on Laurie's features as he approached was all the warning she needed, and he could see her shoulders rise and fall as she sighed at his approach. He felt the subtle breeze of her power across his skin.

"Hey," he said. _Start simple. She can't ignore simple._

"Good afternoon, Julian," Sooraya said pleasantly. Laurie looked between him and Sofia uneasily without a word. Sofia just ignored him.

Julian rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, are you _really_ going to do the whole 'Tell Julian I'm not talking to him' thing? I'm standing right here, so you can at least tell me to my face."

Sofia rounded on him and spit him with a glare. "I'm _not_ talking to you," she said. "So go away. Go back to Santo and Victor and tell them again all about how unreasonable I'm being." She made a gesture with her hands to shoo him away.

He met her glare with one of her own. "I didn't say _anything_ like that, and even if I did it would be because you _are _being unreasonable."

"Oh am I? And how is that, exactly? By breaking up with an obnoxious, stuck-up, thick-headed pig?"

Sooraya put her hands up. "Julian, Sofia, please—"

"You stay out of this, this is between me and Sofia," he snapped. Laurie flinched visibly at the rebuke, and even Sooraya seemed taken aback.

Sofia stood away from the table and planted her fists on her hips as she stared him down, the slight breeze suddenly cutting off. "Don't you talk to her like that! _That's exactly_ what's wrong with you."

"What, asking people to mind their own damn business is a problem?"

"Oh, so of _course_ it's no one else's business when you start shouting at the top of your lungs in the middle of the lounge."

"Who's shouting?" he shouted. He was distantly aware of the music at the other end of the lounge shutting off, and silence filling the rest of the room. "I'm not shouting."

"Then what _are_ you doing?"

"I came over here to talk to you because you've been ignoring me for a week!" Julian felt his face warming, and the urge to lash out and break something was building. The empty can in his hands crinkled.

Sofia didn't back down, and instead put herself in his face. "I've been ignoring you for a week because I want you to _leave me alone_." She emphasized that with a sharp poke to his breastbone that managed to make him stumble back. "Why can't you get that through your fat head you…you…" she trailed off into a drawn out and very angry stream of Spanish that he couldn't follow.

"Both of you, enough!" Sooraya snapped and jumped up from the table, what little he could see of her face behind her _niqab_ bunching angrily.

"Oh _shut up_," he said. "I told you this is none of your business!"

"Stop it," Laurie said weakly, her voice pained, but Julian paid her no attention.

"And I told you don't talk to her like that!" Sofia snapped back. She jabbed him in the sternum again.

"Don't push me," he said, his hand tightening around the can until he felt the aluminum collapse.

"Oh, don't push you? Or what? Huh?" Sofia stepped right up into his face, her own was red as her temper burned, and he felt the air around him begin to stir as she gathered her power. "_Or what? _You'll hit me?"

"Stop it!" Laurie said again, on the verge of tears.

Julian felt his own power build, and the aura formed around his hands. By now a crowd had gathered and he could feel them pressing in, but all his attention was focused on Sofia. "Push me again and _see_ what happens," his voice icy and dangerous.

"Stop it! Stop it! _Stop it!_" Laurie screamed at the top of her lungs, a shrill, piercing, terrible sound.

And then Julian felt the wall of fear, grief and rage slam into him. The sudden flood of emotion physically staggered him and he fell shaking to his knees. Through the tears welling up in his eyes he saw Sofia—no, _everyone in the lounge_—in the same state. Except for Laurie, who stood in the middle of the building confrontation, tears streaming down her reddened face, her fists clenched tightly and her body shaking.

"_All of you stop it!_" she screamed again, and total silence fell over the lounge.

And then she was gone, fleeing from the lounge in tears. As she departed the surge of emotion receded and Julian felt a shock like cold water at the realization of what just happened. At what _nearly_ happened.

Sofia buried her face in her hands as she came to the same conclusion, tears flowing freely. Julian crawled the rest of the way to where she knelt and gathered her into a hug. For her part, she didn't resist.

"I'm sorry," he said, and meant it.

###

Laurie fled the lounge, hot tears burning her cheeks. Her control was gone, the anger she felt in Julian and Sofia's confrontation being recycled in her own pheromones, escalating the conflict further in turn, and building in an emotional feedback loop into potentially lethal rage. She had no choice. She _had_ to release her power. Everything that she was feeling; the despair and helplessness as she watched them, the fear of what was about to happen, the anger she felt from them. The sudden blast of _feeling_ was enough to stop it. It floored everyone in the lounge, letting her escape. She needed to be alone, back to the safety and peace and quiet of her own room, away from _everyone_.

She didn't make it.

Laurie darted through the sitting room to the grand staircase leading up to the second level and the dorms it housed, dodging past students scattering out of her way as she ran. Up the stairs she went, turned down the hall to the students' dorms, blindly rounded the corner, and that's when she felt the impact.

Laurie yelped in surprise as she ran into someone coming down the hall the other way, and she went down in a tangle of her own limbs. She banged a knee and elbow hard on the floor, but ignored the pain and allowed herself to lie dazed for a moment, upset at allowing herself to so completely lose control.

Then she felt the hand on hers helping her to sit upright, and as she sniffled and wiped the tears away to clear her vision she saw Laura standing over her, her belongings scattered across the floor. How the smaller girl had actually kept her feet Laurie wasn't quite sure.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice wavering as she cried. "I didn't mean to…"

She trailed off at the look in Laura's eyes, and suddenly realized she was still releasing her pheromones as Laura's feelings assaulted her in turn, building together in a massive storm of _hurt_. She _tried_ to regain control, but somehow it just wouldn't come. Grief and despair overcame her. Something rolling across the floor came to rest against her foot. Laurie seized hold of it, seeking for something, _anything_, else on which she could focus to try reigning in her emotions and power.

The object in her hand now was long, smooth and eight-sided. A pencil. Laurie lifted it up into view. It was sharp. So sharp.

The grief continued to build. Sooraya was wrong. She would never be able to control her power, and Laurie knew that if she met Josh tonight she wouldn't be able to hold back. She would release it against him. He wouldn't be able to resist her, just like… And when he learned what had happened, when he learned the _truth_, he would be furious. He would hate her, and he would _never_ want to speak to her again.

Tears began to flow anew as she regarded the end of the pencil, sharpened to an amazingly fine point.

She couldn't do that to Josh. She hated doing it to _anybody_. Julian and Sofia almost came to blows because of _her_. Laurie couldn't control it. She was a threat to everyone. If she didn't drive them to fighting amongst each other she would just twist and manipulate everyone around her. It didn't matter whether that was what she _wanted_, it would just _happen_. She couldn't allow it.

Laurie tightened her grip. There was only one way to protect Josh. To protect _everyone_. She…

A grip like steel fixed around her wrist, and she looked away from the pencil and into Laura's green eyes. The other girl didn't say a word as she knelt at her side, and only shook her head in unspoken warning.

Laurie's mouth dropped open with sudden clarity. _Laura knew. She…knew what I was about to do… _Clarity led to understanding, and she dropped the pencil at the sudden realization of not only what she nearly did, but _why_ she nearly did it. She could only stare in shock at Laura as she released her hand and quickly and quietly retrieved her pencil and the rest of her things from where they fell in the collision.

"Laura," she said, her voice trembling. Laurie felt the tears well up again, the shock over what she had felt snapping her back to her senses, and with an effort she managed to regain control.

Laura paused in her cleaning up and looked over her shoulder at her, before hanging her head, her expression unreadable. It didn't need to be, she already _felt_ it for herself.

Laurie pushed herself off her bottom and to her knees beside her, and reached out to the other girl, gently touching her on the shoulder. Her hand shook after the shock of what she felt and the contact helped steady her. Laura's small frame was tense, the muscles in her arm coiled as if about to spring. "Laura, are you…"

"I must go," Laura said quietly, cutting her off and hurrying to gather up the rest of her scattered belongings. Then she rocked to her feet with feline grace and hurried silently from the hallway.

For a moment Laurie remained where she was and dropped back down to sit against the wall. She stared after Laura and watched her head disappear below the floor as she hurried down the stairs to the level below. She was left mercifully alone for a moment, allowing her to reassert full control over her power, but the _memory_ of what she felt lingered.

The tears returned, but this time not _entirely_ for herself.

###

Act IV

###

Cessily left the classroom, joining the crowd gathered in the hallway as they filed towards the stairs leading up to the dormitories or headed for the lounge. With classes officially over for the day, most of the students would soon be gathering in the dining hall for the evening meal. She tried to remember what it was like to be hungry, but it seemed so long ago she couldn't recall the sensation of a growling stomach or even the satisfaction of relieving it. And while she certainly still enjoyed the _taste_ of her favorite foods, it was not quite the same now that she no longer _required_ them. She mentally ran through one of Dr. McCoy's lectures on biology and the characteristics of life.

_Homeostasis, organization, metabolism…_

Well, that was definitely one right out the window. She still ate and drank just for the comfort of appearing normal, but Cessily didn't need to do so to survive. She didn't breathe, either, (at least as she understood it) and did she even have a pulse?

…_growth…_

She could certainly change her size by manipulating the liquid metal of her body, but did that really constitute growth? And did she even _possess_ cells to grow in the first place (which would mean so much for organization)?

…_adaptation, response to stimuli, reproduction…_

Cessily hesitated at that thought, and might even have blushed if she actually possessed the blood to be able to do so. It certainly wasn't something she had put a great deal of thought into, but was it even _possible_ for her to have children?

She did her best approximation of a sigh and paused as she reached the staircase, leaning against the railing. Well, that was at least two, maybe three, of the key characteristics shared by all life forms that she did _not_ possess.

_What am I, then? Am I even still alive, or did Cessily Kincaid die when her power manifested? And if she did, what does that even make _me_?_

Cessily forcibly ended the internal philosophical debate before it could actually begin and depress her further. She had no doubts that any number of the faculty would be intrigued by such a discussion, but it wasn't just philosophy, it was _her_.

"Cessily! Hey, Cessily!" someone called, drawing her out of her private thoughts.

She looked across the sitting room to see Kevin coming towards her from the other classroom. He weaved with exaggerated care around other students, most of whom gave him a wide berth, anyway. He raised his hands to keep them in view and prevent accidental contact as he hurried through the crowd.

Cessily managed a smile for him as he approached. Kevin uselessly brushed his hair away from his face as he stopped beside her, as it just fell in front of his eyes again, anyway. Other students making their way up or down the stairs kept well away from him.

"Hey," she said. "How was class?"

"Pretty good. One of my pieces is going to be put on display at an art festival in the city," he said, and one corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.

"That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks. Have you seen Laurie? I wanted to tell her but she wasn't in class this afternoon."

Cessily frowned. "No, not since lunch." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Julian and Sofia got into it again, and she got upset and took off."

Kevin frowned as well. Since it was almost all he normally did, it took Cessily some time to learn to read the other subtle cues that revealed what he was really feeling. His eyebrows bunched in concern. "I'd heard they were fighting again, and Laurie was there?"

She nodded. "She was having lunch with Sooraya and Sofia joined them. As soon as Julian saw her he insisted on going over, and I just _knew_ he was going to cause trouble if he tried talking to her."

He rolled his eyes. "That's great. Come on, she's probably hiding out in her room."

Kevin grabbed her wrist. To anything living that simple touch would have been quickly lethal, but her metal skin didn't react to him at all. She tried not to think of the implications of that.

"Wait," she said, resisting his tug on her arm. "You know how she gets when she's upset about her power."

"Yeah, but how long has it been since she's actually skipped classes over it?"

Cessily shrugged, reluctantly allowing him to drag her up the stairs. "I don't know, a couple months, maybe."

"Well see, there you go."

"Kevin, will you wait…!" she said as her dragged her around the corner and down the hall towards the dorms. She growled in frustration as she hurried to keep up with him. "What _is_ it with you guys not listening to me today?

They reached the end of the hall, mostly empty now as the students either retreated to the privacy of their rooms or made their way downstairs for the dining hall. Kevin stopped at the wooden door to the room Laurie shared with Sofia and hesitated a moment, before glancing at her rather sheepishly.

"It would probably be best if you, uh…" He trailed off, raising a hand and wiggling his fingers.

Cessily approximated a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Alright, but I still think you should probably just give her some space."

She knocked on the door. "Laurie?" Kevin said, his voice soft. They waited a moment, and when no response was forthcoming she knocked again at another nod from him. "Laurie, it's Kevin, are you ok?"

"Go away!" came the muffled response from the other side.

"Would you please talk to me?"

She didn't respond. Kevin scowled in frustration and tried the door handle, but it was locked from the inside and refused to turn. "Come on, Laurie, open up!"

Cessily grabbed him and spun him away from the door. "Hey, enough," she said. "She's probably upset and forcing your way in there isn't going to do any good."

"I'm trying to _help_, here."

She glared. "Yeah, well you're not, so back off and wait."

Cessily turned back to the door and knocked again. "Laurie, it's Cessily. It's almost time for dinner."

"Just leave me alone, I'm not hungry!" Laurie said.

"Laurie…!" Kevin started, but Cessily silenced him with a sharp elbow to his side and a glare.

"Laurie, can I come in? We can talk, just you and me. Regular talking, no worrying about your power or anything," she said.

Laurie didn't acknowledge her, but she didn't decline the request either. On the other hand, the door was still locked. Cessily turned to Kevin. "You stay put."

Kevin just shrugged innocently.

"And turn around."

He rolled his eyes at her, but did as he was told. When his back was turned Cessily closed her eyes, and she knew it looked for all the world like she was starting to melt as her body liquefied into a pool of metal spreading across the floor. It was a strange sensation, a state of existence wholly different from what she knew before her power manifested. Her field of vision went all fish-eyed on her, and she could see in all directions at once. She still wasn't quite sure _how_, but in this state she was still capable of locomotion, able to grip the floor with every part of her body in contact with it at once, and she squeezed through the narrow crack between the bottom of the door and the floor.

As she emerged inside the room Cessily reformed her body again, emerging from the pool of liquid metal back into her normal state. Of course, it was just her _body_ that came with her. The unfortunate side-effect of using her power in this manner was that it tended to leave whatever she was wearing at the time behind. Cessily wrapped her arms around her nude form protectively, and quickly looked for something to cover herself with rather than face the embarrassment of opening the door and asking for Kevin to return her clothes.

Something soft and fluffy flew across the room and struck her in the side of the head, covering her face and blinding her. Cessily called out in surprise and fought it off, only recognizing the robe once she was free. She gratefully threaded her arms through it and cinched it closed around her.

"Thanks," she said. Laurie sat on her bed, her legs drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees, watching as Cessily adjusted the robe (it didn't _quite_ fit) and made her way across the room. "Are you ok?"

She shook her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, and tears stained her cheeks. "No," she said in a raw voice.

Cessily slowly took a seat next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't…I don't know." Laurie sniffled and wiped her nose. "I just had to get away, I couldn't be around anyone."

"I'm sorry, Laurie. I _told_ Julian to leave Sofia alone, but he…well, he's Julian. You know that once he gets it into his thick head to do something stupid there's not much anyone can do to talk him out of it. Usually the results are hilarious but…"

"It doesn't matter," she said, the tears threatening to start again. "It's not his fault, it was mine. I envy you, Cessily."

Cessily looked at her incredulously. "You're joking. You've looked at me recently, right? The naked silver girl who just squeezed under your door as a puddle of goo?"

Laurie shook her head. "I'm serious," she said. "At least you can be around other people."

"At least you can pass for normal. I can't hide what I am. Everywhere I go I have to deal with the stares and the whispers, and that's just the ones who are _polite_ about it." She hugged the robe a bit tighter around herself. "And sometimes if I use my power I end up like…well…_this_. I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to turn up naked in the middle of a room after shifting. And when I manifested I thought I was _dying_." The thought from earlier returned unbidden. "Who knows, maybe I did."

"But you can control it. You…you don't…_shift_…when you don't want to."

"Only because it took a _lot_ of practice."

Laurie sighed. "That's what Sooraya says."

Cessily smiled. "And Sooraya's pretty smart, you should listen to her."

"I tried. I tried to believe her, but then earlier with Julian and Sofia… All it did is remind me how little control I actually have. The only way I could stop it was to blast everyone with what I was feeling and get away. Then running into Laura after…" she trailed off and hugged her legs closer to her chest, and she shuddered as she buried her face in her arms. "I nearly…"

She frowned at the other girl but didn't press her. Whatever happened with Laura clearly troubled her beyond her typical anxiety. Cessily did her best to like everyone, and when Laurie first arrived at the school she accepted her as her roommate since her pheromones had no effect on her, but they never quite got along. Not that she would ever stop _trying_, of course, so she tentatively reached out and touched her on the shoulder, and Laurie collapsed into her, arms threading around her neck as she began to cry into her shoulder. Cessily hugged her back tightly.

"She stopped me, but what I felt… It was too much," she said between sobs. "Ev…everything is just _too much_. You and Sofia are the only people I can even have a _normal_ conversation with, and even Sofia has to actively use her powers…just in case. I…I'm supposed to meet Josh later, but I can't. Not…not like this."

_Ok, better keep _that_ from Kevin if he asks._

"You can't avoid everybody forever," she said. "Believe me, there's been times where I wished I could lock myself up somewhere and never come out again. I don't even need to worry about eating. Or using the bathroom. But y'know, it's _not worth it_."

Cessily patted her back and gently pushed her back to arm's length again and gave her a smile. Laurie wiped the fresh tears away and looked down at her own lap. "I know. I know."

"Think of it as just being one bad day. Others will be better."

Laurie heaved a ragged sigh and nodded.

"So c'mon, how about getting something to eat?" Cessily asked with a smile.

"I'd…um…I'd still like to be alone for a little while. I know we haven't really seen eye-to-eye, but…thank you."

She nodded. Cessily knew it wouldn't do any good to force her, so best she let Laurie come back out when she was ready. "Alright. I'll bring you some leftovers later, when you're ready to eat, ok?"

"Ok."

Cessily gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, then got up and made her way towards the door. As she reached it she paused and turned back, hooking a thumb under the collar of the robe. "I'll…uh…I'll return this after I can get some clothes on."

Laurie managed a smile and nodded, and with that, Cessily unlocked the door and stepped out into the hall, closing it quietly behind her. Kevin was still waiting when she emerged, and stared at her impatiently as he held out her lost garments.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

Cessily took her clothes from him, holding them against herself unconsciously, not quite trusting the robe to cover her properly. "She's upset," she said. "She'll be ok, but she wants some time alone for right now."

Kevin sighed in disappointment, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "I was really hoping to show her that piece tonight."

She did her best to mask the sudden awkward situation she found herself in. He leaned against the wall with his head bowed dejectedly. "She's not really up for company," she said to skirt around the issue. "Come on, let me get dressed and let's go grab a seat at the table before Santo eats everything."

He nodded. "I'll go ahead. I'll meet you down there."

"Ok. And don't worry, she'll be fine. Just give her some space."

Kevin looked at the door one last time, then turned and wandered down the hall, his black coat billowing around him and his head hanging. Cessily watched him go for a moment, her heart aching with sympathy. Or at least it _would_ be if she knew whether she actually _had_ a heart anymore.

_Ugh, stop it, Cessily. You're going to drive yourself batty if you keep thinking about it._

She sighed heavily, or at least her best approximation of one, and hurried for her own room. The sooner she was dressed again the better.

###

Josh sat alone in the library. It was 7:30.

He sighed in disappointment and closed the book he had been reading while he waited, and got up to return it to the shelf. There were a few other students present, all of them focused on some assignment or other. He heard Nori's giggle carry from some other corner and quickly amended that thought: _Most_ of them focused on some assignment or other. Unfortunately, none of them were who he was waiting for.

As he made his way back to his table he saw Cessily there waiting for him, her expression glum, and seeing her something other than cheerful made him nervous.

"Hey," she said when he reached the table.

"Hey. What's wrong?" he asked

Cessily sighed. Or at least made a close approximation of one. Because of the nature of her mutation she didn't respire like most people. Dr. McCoy had theories, of course. His favorite was direct gas exchange via her surface skin, but Cessily declined to be studied and McCoy respected her wishes and didn't press her. Josh couldn't blame her, either. The manifestation of his own mutation had proven…awkward at the time, and at least he could still pass as a normal person.

"I tried to find you at dinner," she said, and he could see the hesitation in her eyes. One thing, at least, hadn't changed when her powers manifested: Her mannerisms were still distinctly human, though he suspected the things that were the same just reminded her even more of what was _not_.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry, Dr. McCoy asked me to help him prepare something for the next class, I only just finished in time to head over hear. So what's going on?"

Cessily folded her arms under her breasts and hugged herself. "Laurie is…not coming. I wanted to tell you earlier so you wouldn't be here waiting."

Josh sighed. "Ah. You're a bit late, but I already noticed…" He couldn't quite mask the irritation at being stood up in his voice.

"It's not what you're thinking, Josh," she said when she saw the look on his face. "She uh…had an episode."

He frowned. Because Laurie preferred to spend so much of her time alone he didn't get to see her nearly as much as he would have liked, but even he was familiar with her difficulties controlling her powers. "What happened?"

Cessily made a face. "Julian happened. He and Sofia got into it earlier today. And I mean _really_ got into it. Usually Sofia's pretty good about maintaining her power around Laurie, but Julian must have said or done something to make her forget. Between them going at it and how that affects her, and her feeding what she's feeling back into it, the whole lounge just about blew up."

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'd been so busy today this was the first I even heard about it. Is Laurie ok?"

She nodded. "She's ok, and was calming down last time I talked to her. Something _really_ upset her this time, though, so I don't think she'll come out again tonight."

He sighed again. So much for getting to spend time with her tonight. "Ok."

Cessily tapped a finger on one of her arms thoughtfully a moment. "Listen, I was going to take her up some of the leftovers from dinner in a bit so at least she eats something. I uh…I don't see any reason why you can't take them to her instead."

Josh managed a smile. "Thanks, but if she's been that stressed out over her power today I don't know if I'm someone she'd want to see."

"Actually, I think you're someone she _needs_ to see right now. She's afraid, Josh. Of _what_ I don't know, but it's more than just her control. It's like she wants to talk about it but then doesn't. It's rare for us to get along alone in the same room together for more than a few minutes so she won't really talk to me, and Sofia hasn't had much luck, either. Maybe she'll actually talk to you about it."

He considered that for a moment. "Why me?"

"She likes you, duh. I don't know, but maybe she'll open up to you."

Josh considered that thought. On the surface it made sense. In his past relationships his partners certainly used him as a sounding board for personal matters. Laurie, on the other hand, seemed like she could barely string two words together around him. "Laurie doesn't exactly have an easy time talking to me when she _isn't_ upset about her powers," he noted. "Is there any reason you think it would be different this time?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but it's worth a try, isn't it?" Cessily smirked at him. "Aren't scientists supposed to keep an open mind."

"Yes, but this isn't science."

"Well, it's _a_ science, with a bit theater thrown in for drama."

Josh rolled his eyes. "You're not going to let this drop until I go up there, are you."

Cessily's smirk broadened into a full smile. "I put together a plate for her already, it's in the fridge.

"Alright, alright, you can stop twisting and give me my arm back."

Cessily threw her arms around him and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. "You're a wonderful human being, Josh," she said.

He gave her a smile, memories hanging over him he would have preferred not to carry around that had she known about them, she would have quickly seen the irony in. "If I come back wearing that plate, just remember this was your idea."

###

Cessily didn't notice him between the aisles not far from where Josh had been working. Kevin leaned his back against one of the bookshelves and balled his hands into fists, hurt and anger over the conversation he just overheard waging a furious and bloody battle for control.

###

Act V

###

Laurie stretched out on her side on her bed and flipped to the next page of the book she was reading on her Kindle. Sofia had stopped by briefly after dinner to check up on her before taking off again to catch a movie with Julian in Salem Center. That didn't exactly help her mood much; it just reminded her she had stood up Josh. But no matter how much she really did want to go, she couldn't let him see her after losing control earlier. Even the _thought_ that he would have heard all about her breakdown by now left her dying of embarrassment.

She sighed and flipped to the next page, not particularly paying attention to what she was reading, which was just as well because she honestly didn't care much for this book anyway. She picked it up because of all the hype about the television adaptation, but frankly it was just too depressing and mean-spirited for her. Any remotely likeable characters died off horribly, leaving the story to be driven by a bunch of selfish and petty jerks and psychopaths too wrapped up in their own greed.

A knock on the door provided a somewhat welcome distraction, and she shut off her reader. While she still wasn't in the mood for company, Cessily promised to bring her dinner later, and her stomach's protest of its empty state was threatening to override her desire for solitude.

Laurie got up, straightened out her skirt a bit, and made her way towards the door. Cessily knocked again.

"I'm coming," she said. "Just a moment."

She reached the door, took hold of the handle and opened it…

"Hey," Josh said.

…and promptly slammed it shut again as her eyes opened wide as saucers in surprise.

_Oh my god, what is he doing here?!_

It took all of Laurie's focus to reign in her pheromones, while her heart did its best to jump out of her chest and run screaming down the hall.

"Laurie?" Josh said, his voice muffled by the door.

Laurie squeezed her eyes shut tight and leaned her back against the door. It took her another moment or two, but she managed to slow her breathing and get her power back under control.

She took a breath to steady herself, and opened the door a crack, just enough to peek her face through. Josh held a plate in one hand and leaned his other shoulder against the door frame. He smiled at her in mild amusement as he extended the plate to her.

"Cessily couldn't make it," he said, "so she asked me to bring this up to you."

"Thank you," she stammered, but she didn't open the door any wider for him. They just stood there staring at one another for a few awkward moments.

Finally he spoke again. "Um…Can I come in? Or do would you like me to feed you through the door?"

Laurie blushed fiercely and stepped back, opening the door the rest of the way and allowing him to come inside. _Oh god oh god oh god he's in my room…!_

"I'm…um…I'm sorry. About the door," she said as she closed the door again behind him. "And about earlier. I…"

He smiled. Laurie expected to see him angry, or at least upset, but seeing that expression was…comforting. There was understanding in that smile and behind his blue eyes, and for a moment Laurie relaxed. "It's ok. I know that things come up." He paused and looked around. "Uh, where would you like me to put this…?"

"Oh!" she said, suddenly remembering the plate. She hurried across the room to a desk pushed up against one corner near the bed, and cleared a space among the papers and other odds and ends stacked on it. _God, I wish I'd have known _he_ was coming, oh god it's such a mess in here…_ "H-here is fine."

Josh followed and set the plate down, and watched her expectantly. Laurie chewed her lip a moment, and beckoned for him to have a seat. He dropped onto the edge of the bed while Laura sat in the desk chair. He folded his hands in front of him and regarded her thoughtfully for a moment.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "I heard what happened, and I just wanted to be sure you're ok."

Laurie hugged herself, but the genuine concern in his voice helped put her at ease. "I'm…better," she said. "Again, I'm sorry about earlier. I…um…I was…looking forward to it, but I…" she trailed off as tears of shame threatened to well up on her again. Josh reached out and took one of her hands in his, and her heart fluttered a bit at the touch.

"It's ok," he said softly. "I'm just glad you're feeling better."

She nodded, and the immediate threat of breaking out into sobs passed. But was she _really_ feeling better? Laurie withdrew her hands and shrunk back into her sweater as far as she could. So far her control over her power was holding, but…

"I have a confession to make," he said. "When I asked you about working on the lab earlier, it wasn't really about the lab."

The fluttering started up again. Laurie felt her power build, and it took all her concentration to force it back down again. "Oh…?" she squeaked.

Josh shook his head and flashed that smile at her again. The butterflies in her stomach joined the flutter. "I know we haven't spent a _lot_ of time together. Well, Just you and me, at least. But I like you. You're pretty, I like the way you blush and shrink into your sweater when you're flustered, I _like_ your power and the potential for the things that you can share with it…"

"Josh," she said, interrupting him before he could say more. She felt tears start to well up. "Please, don't…"

He frowned at her, and images of…of _him_ loomed up from the dark place in her mind, and fear gripped her. _No, I can't do this._

"I…I can't," she continued. "Please, I need…I need you to go."

Josh didn't move, and instead took her hand. "Laurie, I know you like me, too."

Her heart thudded hard against her sternum, and it was all she could do to maintain control. "Th…that's why I can't do this."

"Can you please at least tell me what's wrong? Why not."

"Because of _him_!" she said, and the tears began to flow freely. "Because of my father."

He blinked in confusion. "He wouldn't approve of me?"

She shook her head. "No, because of what he _did_." Laurie tore her hand away from his and buried her face in them. "And I don't want to do it to you, too."

"Do _what_?"

There was a hint of command in Josh's voice as he tried to coax the truth from her, and Laurie couldn't deny he _deserved_ to hear it. After all, here he was saying he liked her for what she was, how could she hold that back? But what if the truth frightened him away? She didn't want to risk losing him _that_ way, either.

"Laurie," he repeated softly, his hand pulling hers away from her face. "What don't you want to do?"

She drew a ragged breath. Somehow in the outburst she had managed to maintain control of her pheromones, so she supposed that was something. Or maybe as her control slipped she picked up Josh's patient calm. She honestly couldn't tell. Laurie weighed the consequences of coming clean with him, then took a steadying breath.

"My father is a mutant as well," she finally said after ending her deliberation. "He…I share his power, but my father uses it on people." Laurie hugged herself tightly. "If he wanted a woman he used it on her. He…he did it to my _mother_."

Laurie risked a look at Josh, and his expression was set in a curious blending of being appalled while understanding her fears. "He loved her, I think, because unlike the others once he seduced her he stayed with her, but no matter how you look at it she still wasn't with him by _choice_." She sighed. "Maybe a month or two before I was born, his power over her, I don't know what happened exactly, but it _broke_. It suddenly stopped working, and my mother almost immediately realized what happened. Maybe…maybe it was me. Maybe because I inherited his power, it…it made her _immune_ somehow. I don't know, maybe Dr. McCoy would know more about it but it…it always seemed too personal to ask him."

Josh nodded in understanding. "What happened then? After your father's power stopped working."

She sniffed and wiped the tears away. "She…uh…she left him. She realized that the only reason she was there was because of what he did to her, so she left him. Then I was born, and it was just us, and she refused to let him have contact with me. And when my power manifested she brought me here. I…uh…I still talk to her, a lot. And I've visited with her in Salem Center. My power doesn't affect her, either, I guess, maybe I made her immune to _me_, too. My father didn't have someone to teach him how _not_ to use his power, and she didn't want me to be like that. To do the things he did, so she wanted me to be helped by people who…who understood, because she didn't know how to raise someone like…me…like _us_."

Laurie sighed and looked sadly into his bright blue eyes. She didn't want to hurt him like this, but she had no choice. She couldn't risk being like her father. "That's…" she continued, the tears threatening to start again. "That's why. That's why I can't do it. I…I don't want to be like _him_. I can't do that to you. Because then you'll be mad just like my mother, and will never want to see me again. I…I can't live with that."

"You're _not_ like him," Josh said. "He wasn't responsible with his power, and just used it for his own gain. You make every effort to control it."

"It doesn't matter!" Laurie said. "I try. I _do_. But there's always days like today, where I just can't stay in control. Julian and Sofia could have hurt each other _for real_ today."

"But you stopped it."

"But what if next time I can't? What if I lose control with you? I don't want to _make_ you feel anything you don't want to."

Josh gave her a small smile. "So that's why you avoid people. It's _not_ about you, Laurie, or your power. It's about your _father_. But you're _not_ him, ok? Don't be afraid of yourself just because of what _he_ is. I mean, I know how hard this must be for you to talk about, but look, you're in control right now, right?"

Laurie hesitated in responding, and realized he was right. The power was there, waiting, but…it was just _waiting_. For the moment. "Y-yes," she said.

His smile broadened. "Good. So you can definitely say that, right now, you're _not_ affecting me with it."

She nodded.

Josh leaned in suddenly, and his mouth met hers. Laurie froze in surprise and her whole body tensed up as he kissed her. It was soft and gentle, a brief touch before he pulled away again, and her heart and the butterflies began bouncing wildly off each other. Her limbs trembled and she suddenly felt very warm.

"Um…" she said. "Wow…" Laurie laughed giddily.

He laughed with her, and Laurie almost didn't hear him through all the noise the butterflies were making.

###

Kevin regarded the shapeless pile of scrap sitting in the middle of his workshop. His other piece had been loaded onto a truck earlier in the evening to be taken downtown, leaving him with space once again to work, but somehow the motivation wouldn't come. The conversation between Cessily and Josh in the library echoed in his mind, and he silently fumed.

He picked up his torch, lit it, and began to cut, more out of a need to distract himself from thoughts of Laurie than any real creative drive or inspiration.

He worked deep into the night, alone in the darkness.

* * *

**A Note From The Author**

As a general story note, I'm still trying to decide exactly how to categorize it. Obviously it's an X-Film fic, but stories and characters are going to be drawing from NXM. For now I've decided to make it a Crossover of both, so we'll see how that works.

This episode is very much focused on characters and their relationships, (mainly Julian/Sofia and Josh/Laurie) so there's not a lot of action. Though if this were to ever be a series I probably just blew the SFX budget for the season on Cessily's transformation sequence...

And before anyone starts, yes, I know that in the books Wallflower's power is limited to just influencing the emotions of others. But when you consider the ways the X-Films deviated from the books this is pretty mild in comparison. I also thought that it would be a natural extension of her power if Laurie could detect and was affected by pheromones from OTHER people as well. Besides, I just wanted to use "emotional feedback loop" in a sentence.

Wither was actually a fairly late addition to the cast I wasn't intending at first, but besides helping advance Act IV I kind of like him as a foil for Elixir. With Kevin's introduction, this leaves one more "main" cast member in the first season to introduce, which I hope to bring on in 1x03 or 1x04.

And no, I don't care much for A Song of Ice and Fire, why do you ask? For that matter, I'm rather disappointed I didn't find a way to destroy that Kindle, either. I hate e-readers. If you're going to read a book, you should be holding a BOOK.


	3. 1x03 - Downtime

1x03

Downtime

###

Act I

###

The drive up to the school from the main gate hadn't changed all that much in the past decade. Well, that wasn't exactly true. The student body certainly had. Those familiar faces that remained would be standing in front of the class now rather than sitting listening to the lectures, and they would certainly be a good bit older, and that would just serve as a reminder of how many had moved on as she had.

Jubilee deftly maneuvered her car along the drive, skirting children throwing around a football, walking together on the grounds, or chatting in the courtyard while taking in the crisp autumn afternoon air. She smiled at the memories, most of them pleasant, though the dark few days she spent with the other frightened children, locked in cages to become an unwilling part of the experiments of Colonel Stryker, continued to loom over her. Those memories of fear and helplessness never _quite_ went away, but they did get better over time.

She turned off the main drive and into a visitor's lot on one side of the school, and found a place to park. The fall breeze tugged at the tail of her long wool coat, and the sun glinted off the mirror-finish lenses of her Oakley Radars as she stepped out of her car and started across the lot towards the main building. She smiled at the students she passed, many of whom were not yet in grade school when she was enrolled at Xavier's by her caseworker.

As she passed through the courtyard and stepped into the entrance hall she pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head and out of the way. Like the drive up and walk across the grounds, entering the school reminded Jubilee how little was different. The same décor, the same sights, sounds and smells, almost everything was just as it was the last time she had been here, barring a few pieces of furniture that needed replacing over the years and some updated technology. That sense of _sameness_ was comforting, and she couldn't help but smile at the memories that echoed in the halls of the mansion.

Jubilee stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat and hurried along the entrance hall, keeping to one side to clear the path for the flow of students making their way past her. Friday afternoons meant the end of classes for the week, and trips into Salem Center or even New York City. She turned right at the sitting room, giving a quick look up the grand staircase towards the dorms on the second level as she passed, steps she'd climbed up and down she couldn't remember _how_ many times. A fair-skinned girl with black hair—and wearing Logan's old biker jacket, she realized, which looked ridiculously oversized on her petite frame—sat on the top step off to one side watching the flow of traffic below, and Jubilee couldn't help but feel as if the girl had taken particular notice of her the moment she came into view. She ignored the uneasy feeling of being watched, and continued on her way.

She passed through the library, which was mostly deserted now with the student body more concerned with getting to the night-life in town than their studies. Two of the kids, a boy and a girl, sat at one of the tables looking over a pile of notes, their proximity suggesting something a little more intimate between them than just class work. Both looked to be about seventeen and both were golden-haired, the boy rather absurdly good-looking, the girl pretty and giggling shyly at something he said. Jubilee smiled at them as she made her way to Xavier's office. Yes, some things never changed.

Jubilee reached the door and was about to knock when she heard the Professor's voice.

"Come in," he said.

Jubilee turned the handle and stepped inside.

_Speaking of things that never change…_

Professor Charles Xavier looked exactly as she remembered him, from his bare head to his fine suit, and whether through lifestyle, genetics, or just sheer good fortune the man didn't seem to age at all, and he smiled at her with the same welcoming smile he always wore when greeting one of his students. Jubilee smiled back.

"Hello, Professor," she said, quickly crossing the room and enfolding him in a hug.

"Jubilation Lee," he said, giving her a powerful squeeze back, impressive considering his lack of leverage from his wheelchair. "It's good to see you again, and I'm glad to see you received my letter."

Jubilee mentally cringed at his use of her full name. She still didn't know _what_ her parents were thinking when they named her.

"I did, and it's good to see you, too. I'm sorry I haven't been back sooner," she said as they parted.

Xavier motioned to the conversation circle, and he wheeled himself in that direction. "Please, have a seat."

Jubilee took a seat in one of the chairs, arranging herself comfortably as Xavier positioned himself so they could speak. "How have things been here?" she asked as she got settled.

"Quite well. The politics of course have been as tenuous as ever," he said. "But aside from a few loud voices such as Stryker we've mostly been left alone since the Registration Act failed."

She shuddered at the mention of that name, the memory of the cages in that cold, dank dungeon beneath Alkali Lake flashing through her mind. "I'd still like to know how he managed to get away. I don't mean with his life, but how he didn't end up in jail after what he did to us."

Xavier sighed. "Unfortunately, for Stryker to be prosecuted it would mean the government acknowledging that his project even existed. Despite all the prejudice mutants continue to face, if the government admitted that the United States military was condoning experimentation on _children_ the outcry would have been deafening."

Jubilee gave him a bitter scowl. "So instead they give him a quiet medical discharge and none of the kids he hurt get anything out of it but an 'Oops' and a bit of hush money."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that part of why you moved back to California after graduation?"

She folded her arms across her chest and nodded. "After what happened… It was just hard to stay here. I mean, you guys were the first family I really had since my mother and father died, but I think I just needed some time away from it all."

The Professor nodded in understanding. "And I hear you've been keeping quite busy the last few years you've spent away," he said.

"You've been keeping tabs on me?"

"I try to keep up with all of my children," he said. He smiled slyly. "The old-fashioned way, of course."

Jubilee chuckled. Cerebro was as poorly-kept a secret among the students as the Blackbird, but she knew the Professor would only use it at need and not for casually checking up on her. Most likely the Professor inquired about her through one of the other members of her class she kept in contact with over the years. "Of course. I just thought with all the help you gave me here I ought to try giving back, you know?" she said.

He steepled his hands in front of him. "Yes, I heard you spent some time as a social worker. Quite admirable considering all the trouble you gave us when you arrived here."

There was no recrimination in Xavier's voice, only amusement at the memory. She nodded, quirking a smile at his dry humor. Bouncing between orphanages, foster homes and the streets certainly made adjusting to a structured environment challenging. "I understand how hard it is to be in that situation, so I figured that would be as good a place to start as any."

"Indeed. But tell me, what led you to resign? I took the liberty of requesting your work history from the agency you were with, and you were certainly doing a wonderful job there."

Jubilee raised an eyebrow at that. The Professor appeared to be working a particular angle here, and she suddenly felt his invitation to visit wasn't _quite _as innocent as he made it seem. "Well… I don't know," she said. "I liked being able to help those kids, especially because I know what they've been going through, but…" She sighed. "I don't know, I was making a _difference_ but I'm not sure that it felt like _where_ I should be."

Xavier nodded a bit and stared off somewhere past her left shoulder. Jubilee watched him, his eyes thoughtful, and she knew something was turning in there. "Why is that?"

She considered a moment before responding. "I'm not really sure. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy what I was doing, but…" She let herself trail off, not entirely certain what she felt on that matter.

He seemed to reach a conclusion to whatever he was mulling over, and he looked back at her, his eyes fixing on hers. "It wasn't quite home," he said, as if finishing for her, and she nodded her agreement with the sentiment. "Jubilee, what would you think about returning here, to work for the school?"

Jubilee blinked. "Here? You mean, like, as a teacher?" She laughed a bit at the absurdity of that suggestion. "I don't know, considering the trouble I was, I'm not sure I'd be teacher material. And with my problems with numbers can you really see me teaching math?"

Xavier smiled back at that and chuckled as well. "What I had in mind was something not too different from what you have already been doing. You know as well as anyone that many of our students have no family beyond these walls. Whether because they were orphaned, or abandoned, or otherwise driven out by their families because of what they are. There are many, I suspect, who are in need of someone they can turn to for guidance."

She weighed that for a moment. "Don't the teachers normally take care of that? At least, that's the way it was when I was a student. I've kept in touch with Kitty, Peter and Marie after they accepted postings and I know they've still been doing a lot of that already."

He nodded. "Yes, they do. However with their other responsibilities they often don't have the time to fully devote to it. This would be strictly an advisory role, providing the students with a mentor they can come to for help and advice beyond just their class work."

Jubilee sat back in her chair and stared at her lap in silent thought. Xavier watched her, expectant but without making her feel as if he was pressing her while she considered his offer. The truth was she was sorely tempted. The school had been the only place that felt like _home_ to her since her parents died, and most of her closest friends had come through it with her. A few were even still here.

She looked back at him. "Can I have a few days to think it over?" she finally asked. "I'm sorry, it's just that I just got in, so it's been a bit of a long trip and I don't know if I'm ready to make a decision like that yet."

"Of course," Xavier said, and smiled. "Take all the time you need to get settled in, in fact I think there is a guest room available if you need somewhere to stay, I wouldn't dream of you staying at a hotel during your visit. You can also take some time to get to know some of our new class of students before you make a decision."

Jubilee laughed a bit and shook her head. "You're acting like I already have," she said. "But thank you, I will."

With their business concluded for now, she rose and stuffed her hands back into her coat pockets. "I should probably grab my bag and see about getting cleaned up, I've had a bit of a drive."

"Of course," Xavier said. Jubilee stepped forward and embraced him once more.

"Whatever I decide, Professor, I want you to know it really is good to be back. I've missed you."

###

Act II

###

Saturday was, without a doubt, the best day of the week.

His iPod blasted through his headphones as Mark danced his way along the dorm room hallway and down the staircase to the sitting room below. Most of the mansion still slept, though it was now past 9 o'clock, and the handful of students actually up watched as he slipped among them, smiling and laughing at the sight as they cleared a path for him. Mark didn't care what they thought; he heard music and had to move with it however it drove him, though that didn't mean he couldn't pick the direction.

He turned right at the landing and danced into the lounge, past tables, chairs and couches, past the television set—it was on and there were a couple students gathered around it, though he was so engrossed in his music he didn't pay much attention to who they were or what they were watching—and into the empty dining hall. He danced past the long table lined with chairs and into the kitchen, and danced as he put his breakfast together, then retraced his steps.

Back out of the kitchen, through the dining hall and into the lounge, across the floor past tables and chairs, and ending with a flourish when the song came to an end just as he reached the TV, where Cessily, Sooraya and Laura sat with their own morning meals. The former two laughed and applauded, and he thought he caught a trace of amusement lighting up Laura's face for just a moment.

"Good morning, ladies," he said as he shut off his iPod and hung his headphones around his neck. Mark dropped lightly onto the couch next to Laura, brushed a hand through his shaggy mop of hair, and flashed her a smile and a wink. "Hello, Laura." A spoonful of cereal paused halfway from her bowl, and the corners of her mouth twitched up ever so slightly in response. _Well, I could _almost_ call that a smile._

"Good morning, Mark!" Sooraya said. "You are certainly in a good mood this morning."

"It's Saturday, and music makes me happy," he said with a broad smile. "And you look positively radiant this morning."

Sooraya smiled behind her _niqab_. "Why, thank you, Mark."

He turned his smile on Cessily, who watched the exchange with amusement. "And how are you doing this morning, Cessily?"

"Wonderfully, thank you for asking," she said cheerily.

Next he looked at Laura. Her attention was turned back to the television, which was playing some cartoon she watched with almost childlike fascination while she ate.

"Good show?" he asked, a trace of a smirk playing across his lips. Laura shrugged, not taking her eyes off the television as she continued to eat her breakfast.

Mark's smirk returned to a full, amused smile and he shook his head. "You know, one of these days you'll put more than two or three words together for me. It will absolutely make my day to have an actual conversation with you."

He turned his attention back to Sooraya and Cessily. "So, what do you ladies have planned this fine morning?"

"We're thinking of catching the shuttle into Salem Center," Cessily said. "Laura's spent the last two weekends hiding out on the grounds and we thought it would be nice to bring her along."

Laura tore her attention away from the television and looked doubtfully at them. "I still prefer to stay here." she said.

"Nonsense!" Sooraya said. "It will be good for you to get away for a bit. You can't spend all your time cooped up inside the school."

"_Especially_ if it means getting you away from Julian for a little while," Cessily added.

Mark rolled his eyes. "He's _still_ giving her a hard time, huh?"

Cessily nodded. "I wish he'd just grow up and give it a rest, but you know Julian. Santo can be just as bad."

He looked at Laura again, whose green eyes returned to the television. He heard the _Beep! Beep!_ of the Roadrunner as Wile E. Coyote continued his vain pursuit of breakfast and watched along with her for a moment. The cartoon ended with the hapless coyote swinging down from a log with a javelin in hand, only to smack right into a truck driving the opposite direction.

"_Everyone_ could use a break from Julian now and then," he said. "That's probably why Sofia breaks up with him every other week. It's all a brilliant scheme to get some time off. One of these days someone will need to teach him a lesson on how to treat a lady, though." He made a show of popping his knuckles, but the girls knew the gesture was just for their entertainment.

Sooraya chuckled behind her _niqab_, accompanied by a slight wrinkling of the corner of her eyes as she smiled. "You would be welcome to join us, of course, unless you have other plans already."

Mark quirked a grin. "I was actually going to see what Santo and Victor were up to today, but you three make for much prettier company." He winked at Laura again, and he thought he saw a hint of color appear on her cheeks.

"Wonderful!" she said.

"Maybe we'll even get her to actually have a good time." He gently nudged Laura with his elbow. She didn't say anything in response, answering him only with a doubtful look.

###

The library was not somewhere Julian liked to be on a Saturday morning. But Sofia wasn't in her room and this is where Laurie said she went, so…

Santo and Victor tagged along behind him and ignored his hints he wanted some privacy. He threaded through the tables and searched the aisles until he finally found her working at a computer terminal in one of the back corners. Julian motioned for the other two to hold back, and crept up behind her and enfolded her in a surprise hug.

Sofia giggled. "Good morning."

"Hey," he said, and kissed the back of her head. "What are you doing in here this morning?"

She squirmed out of his arms and returned to work. "Research. I have a report due on Tuesday."

Julian leaned his hip against the desk and looked over the computer monitor. "What's it on?"

Sofia picked up her notebook and flipped to the first page, making a show of reading the assignment. "Compare and contrast the key events, methods and goals of the following social movements with the contemporary Mutant Rights effort: Women's Rights in the United States from the nineteenth through twentieth centuries leading to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. The American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and its connection to Reconstruction-era politics."

Julian gave a low whistle, picked the notebook out of her hand and flipped through it, not really bothering to actually read any of her notes. "Pretty heavy subject."

She snatched her notebook back. "Yes, it is, so if you don't mind I'd like to get back to work."

He gave her a hurt look. "Aw, I was coming to see if you wanted to head into Salem Center with me, Santo and Victor."

"I'd love to, baby, but I've got a _lot_ to do."

Julian knelt beside her so he could look at her from relatively eye-level. "I could always ditch those two losers and stay here to help," he said with a grin as he threaded an arm around her shoulders.

Sofia favored him with an amused look. "Oh, I don't think so. It will _never_ get done, then."

He pouted. "What, you don't think I can do research? I can Wiki with the best of them."

"Oh, well _that_ encourages me. I thought you spent most of your time on Wikipedia putting cute comments about other editors in the articles? But no, it's a sociology project, Julian, not an anatomy lesson. And I _know_ if you stay and try to 'help' it's just going to turn into the latter and I won't get anywhere."

"You know, you take all the fun out of 'study date.'"

She raised an eyebrow. "Because I actually focus on the _study_ part?"

He gave her a quick kiss. "Spoilsport."

Sofia laughed again, then nodded to Victor and Santo. "Go on, go outside and play with the other children and let the grownups work."

"I'll see you tonight, then. Unless you're still in here. This place gives me the creeps on weekends."

She gave him an impatient look. "Have fun."

Julian gave her a lingering kiss on the mouth. "Well, it won't be _as_ fun, but I'll try."

He reluctantly pulled away from her and returned to Victor and Santo, leaving Sofia to work. Santo smirked at him as he fell into step beside him. "Julian and Sofia, sittin' in a tree…"

"Oh can it, rock pile," Julian said.

"She's not coming?" Victor said.

Julian sighed, he could still taste her lipstick. "No, she's got that big project due on Tuesday. Which means I'm stuck with you two most of this weekend."

Victor made a show of clutching his chest. "Ouch, that hurts, Julian. I mean I'm seriously wounded, here."

They left the library and passed the stairs leading up to the dorms. Kevin was leaving the lounge, a brooding black cloud heading the opposite direction with his jacket flapping about him and his hands stuffed in his pockets where he couldn't accidentally touch anyone, and they met him in the middle of the hall.

"Hey," Santo said.

"Santo. Victor. Julian," he replied, nodding to each in turn.

"Hey. Headed into Salem Center with the rest of us?" Julian asked.

"Not today," Kevin said, his hair falling across his eyes when he shook his head. "I've got a piece being displayed in that festival downtown and they're judging today."

Julian grinned. "Well, if you sell that thing I hope you remember me and Sofia for inspiring you when the check comes."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Please, that wasn't you two. I've had another one in mind that's more fitting, anyway. I'm thinking of calling it _The Fight_. You two have given me _plenty_ of inspiration."

"Funny. By the way, remember we're starting a new _Team Fortress_ bracket tonight. No skipping out last-minute and letting Nori sub David in this time."

Kevin started backwards up the stairs. "Right, just remember I still get a share of that prize from the last one."

"You and Alleyne can split it," Julian called back. Kevin made a rude gesture and turned around as he hurried the rest of the way up the stairs. "Hey, I saw that! And here I was about to wish you luck today."

Julian glared at his back as he disappeared from view down the hall, then shook his head and turned to the other two. "Well, I guess it's just the three of us."

He turned down the entry hall and made his way towards the front of the school, Santo and Victor trailing along behind him.

###

Kevin left Julian, Santo and Victor behind as he proceeded up the stairs and down the hallway towards the dorms. A couple students hanging out chatting in the hall scattered to give him plenty of room to pass, even though his hands were back in his pockets after his less-than-polite farewell to Julian. He ignored them and continued on his way, stopping at the door to the room Laurie and Sofia shared.

He hesitated for a moment, mulling over whether to continue with what had brought him, before slipping a glove on over his hand and knocking on the door.

"Just a minute," Laurie said, her voice muffled by the wall between them, and then the door opened a crack and her face appeared in the gap. She gave him a friendly smile when she saw him. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied. Laurie didn't open the door the rest of the way.

"Where…um…where have you been hiding? I haven't seen you much lately." She hugged herself shyly. He knew it wasn't out of discomfort from being around him. Laurie was one of the few people who didn't run screaming from him the moment he came into view. Well, at least she didn't when her power was under control and she wasn't desperately trying to escape _everyone_ around her.

Kevin shifted self-consciously, and gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry," he said. "I've been kind of busy." Well, that wasn't the _only_ reason, but he couldn't really _tell _her that. "Is…uh…Josh around?" That was certainly uncomfortable to ask.

"No," she said, and he let out the breath he'd been holding. "I think he was helping Dr. McCoy again this morning. I can let him know you were looking for him."

"I wasn't," he said. Kevin leaned against the door frame, careful to keep any bare skin from touching the wood.

"Oh," she said. If she was beginning to catch on she didn't show it. Laurie chewed her lower lip for a moment and stepped out into the hallway.

He shifted uncomfortably. "I uh… Ms. Guthrie was running me over to the city today for that art festival she entered my work in. They're judging today, and I'd like it if you could be there."

Laurie's face colored and she covered her mouth with both hands. "Oh! Oh, Kevin, I'm so sorry, I forgot that was today! Josh…uh…Josh was taking me to Salem Center this afternoon. I'm sorry."

A knot formed in Kevin's stomach, and he couldn't keep the resignation off his face. "Oh. Well, that's ok, then. Maybe another time."

Laurie reached out to touch his arm and caught herself before she could make contact. Kevin cringed inwardly at that. It was only his bare skin that was the problem, but people were so frightened of his power that most were afraid of touching him _at all_. Laurie, of course, erred on the side of caution and let her hand drop short of his arm. "No, it's…um…it's _not_ ok," she said. "This is a big deal for you. I mean, I'm sure you'll have another piece on display sometime, but still."

"No, really," he said. "If you already have plans it's not a big deal."

She shook her head. "What time were they announcing the winners? Maybe…um…maybe Josh and I can drop by then?"

Another sock to the gut, but nonetheless Kevin reached into his jacket, pulled a pamphlet from an inside pocket and handed it over to her. "The awards are being announced at seven o'clock tonight."

"I'll…uh…I'll try to be there."

Kevin nodded and sighed. "Ok. I hope to see you there. Have a good time today."

He started to walk away, when a touch on his arm stopped him and brought him up short. Laurie only tentatively reached out to take hold of his arm through the sleeve of his jacket, and quickly snapped her hand back as if that simple contact burned her fingertips. It didn't, of course.

"Kevin, are…are you ok?" she asked, frowning slightly as she looked into his eyes.

He knew she could easily catch him in any lie he might try to tell her if she relaxed her hold over her power, but she wouldn't. Laurie feared _herself_ almost as much as the other students feared him, and he doubted she would deliberately try to read him.

"I'm fine," he said after the barest of pauses. From the doubt in her blue eyes he realized his hesitation in responding hadn't gone unnoticed. Sometimes you didn't _need_ to be able to empathically read someone's pheromones to know they were lying.

"Kevin…" she started, a hint of admonishment in her voice, but he waved her off.

"No, really," he said. "I'm fine. Anyway, I need to get going. Ms. Guthrie is waiting."

"Ok," she said doubtfully. "Good…good luck today, I hope I can make it."

He gave her a small smile he wasn't really feeling, and started back down the hall towards the stairs again. He stripped off his glove and stuffed it and his hands back in his pockets, and anyone still in the hallway cleared a path for him once again. Kevin sighed and ignored them as he slipped past them, and headed for the courtyard.

###

The air was cool and crisp, and a carpet of reds, golds and oranges appeared overnight to cover the grounds surrounding the school as the trees shadowing the paths leading between the mansion, the gates, and its various outbuildings began to shed their leaves. Jubilee lowered her Oakleys as she stepped out into the morning sun, and pulled her jacket tighter around herself against the chill before stuffing her hands in her pockets.

A small knot of students gathered around the shuttle to Salem Center, a full-sized white Ford E-series van with "Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters" printed along the side in simple, black block text, and the school's seal affixed to the driver's and passenger's side doors. Although the kids stood together she noticed they appeared to separate somewhat into two groups; one led by a rather handsome black-haired boy, accompanied by the massive stone body of whom Jubilee guessed could only be Santo Vaccaro, and a smaller, leaner student with reptilian features. _The other two must be Julian Keller and Victor Borkowski._

The other was fronted by a Muslim girl, her black _abaya_ brushing the ground and billowing freely around her in the morning breeze. Another black-haired boy, somewhat shorter than Keller and with a pair of headphones around his neck stood between her and a girl with metallic silver skin and red hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. _Sooraya Qadir, Mark Sheppard and Cessily Kincaid. _Hanging to the edge of the gathering, but apparently part of Qadir's group, was the small girl she noticed the afternoon before, shrinking into Logan's voluminous biker jacket with her fishnetted legs sticking out from what appeared to be a rather inappropriately short skirt. _And that must be Laura Kinney._

"Good mornin'," came a familiar voice from her side.

Jubilee turned her attention away from the kids—that was an amusing thought, considering they were not much more than ten years her junior—and smiled at Anna Marie. Her former classmate, now a teacher at the school alongside Kitty Pryde, tugged her own jacket closer around herself. Her long, dark brown hair, marked by a distinct broad white stripe that had never grown out since the events at the Statue of Liberty a dozen years before, was pulled back casually, and as always she wore a pair of gloves covering her hands.

"Good morning," Jubilee replied.

"So how's it feel t' be back?" Marie asked in her slight southern drawl.

"Kind of strange, really," she admitted. "Things aren't quite the same, but they also are. The hardest thing to get used to is being on the _other_ side of the classroom."

Marie chuckled. "Tell me about it. So do y'know yet if you're goin' to take the Professor up on his offer?"

Jubilee shrugged and leaned against the side of the building, watching the knot of students as they squabbled over seating in the van. Santo's rocky body blocked the rear door—just _how_ the big mutant expected to fit with the rest of his friends had Jubilee stumped—while the others tried to decide among themselves who would sit where. Laura kept to the outside of the group, clearly disinterested in involving herself in the confrontation.

"I'm still not sure," she said. "I know it's not much different than working with those kids back home in California, but none of them could alter the fabric of reality when they had a bad day."

Marie nodded. "Well, that certainly makes it more challengin', but ain't that also what makes it more rewardin' in the long run?" She grinned. "And it's certainly more entertainin' to watch."

Jubilee laughed. "Oh god, if I do accept I hope none of these kids are in the habit of giving the staff the same sort of trouble we did."

"What d' you mean _we_? I think you spent more time in detention than the rest of us put together."

"Yeah, well, you blew up the Statue of Liberty."

Marie laughed out loud at that. "I did not! First of all it was just th' torch. An' second that was Magneto's machine that did it. He may have stuck me in there but it was still him powerin' it through me. An' if we're talkin' about destruction of property, who was it that jus' about burned down half of Salem Center one year on the Fourth o' July?"

Jubilee smirked. "Oh come on, it was just the park and was an accident, anyway. And besides, the local boys sure got a kick out of it."

Marie rolled her eyes. "No accountin' for taste," she said with a grin. "I do hope you decide to stay, though. We've missed you bein' here to liven things up. We haven't had a good explosion in a while."

"I promise, my control's a _lot_ better now. And I've missed you, _all_ of you, too."

The debate between the students started to turn a little bit more heated, and Jubilee saw Julian's hands begin to glow as Mark stepped in between him and Laura. Mark's headphones were now in place on his ears.

Marie rolled her eyes in exasperation. "C'mon, I need to get them packed up and movin' into town before they kill each other. Not sure _how_ the driver keeps 'em in line. I'd appreciate the help."

Jubilee smirked. "Sure. Who'd have ever thought we'd turn into responsible adults."

They both shared a laugh at that. "No kiddin'."

###

Act III

###

Downtown Salem Center stood on the East end of the Titicus Reservoir, at the intersection of the East-West running NY 116/Titicus Road and June Road, which bisected it from the North and South. Well, at least what passed for its downtown area did. Mostly a wealthy collection of large estates as part of New York City's sprawling surrounding suburbs, Salem Center was not significantly developed, most prominently the cluster of government buildings at the very end of the reservoir housing the North Salem Supervisor, Fire Department, Town Court, and the Ruth Keeler Library, and about half a mile further east at the shuttle's destination, the "heart" of Salem Center itself.

On the Southwest Corner of the intersection was the North Salem Market, the post office, bank, and Luz's Deli and Pizzeria. The North Salem Highway Department headquartered itself on the Northwest corner, while a nursery school and Episcopal Church occupied the opposite side of June Road. In the Southeast corner, and Sooraya's destination as she and her classmates unloaded from the shuttle van—an incredibly uncomfortable ride with Santo crammed between Victor and Laura on the rear bench (Allah bless them for their small frames, otherwise they might not all have fit)—was the Grind Stone Café on Titicus road between a small movie theater right at the corner, and a strip mall further east housing a few shops and other diversions built to take advantage of the frequent visits by students of the Xavier School.

Sooraya eased out of the shuttle's door behind Cessily, Mark and Julian, adjusting her _abaya_ around herself and stretching her legs. Victor slipped out once she was out of the way, and Santo somehow managed to squeeze from the back to follow. Laura sprung lightly out behind him, seemingly untroubled by having been wedged between the bulky, rocky mutant and the side of the van's interior. The day was cool but pleasant, and her loose-fitting _abaya_ was sufficient to protect her against the bite of the fall breeze.

"Ugh, _finally_," Santo said, his stone body cracking as he stretched his limbs. The drive was not a long one, but the cramped cabin did him no favors.

"After all the complaining and seat-kicking you did I vote next time you walk," Julian said irritably.

"What? They were crowding me."

Victor rolled his eyes. "Oh give me a break," he said. "You were practically sitting on my lap the whole way."

Santo flashed him his best trying-to-get-under-his-skin flirty grin. "Just admit you enjoyed it, honey," he said, throwing an arm around the much smaller mutant. For his part Victor took the ribbing in stride and pushed him off with an elbow to the gut that had no real effect on Santo otherwise.

"What I enjoy is breathing. Having every bone in my body from the waist down ground into dust by your rocky ass, not so much."

"Children, can we please get along for at least a _few_ minutes," Sooraya said with a roll of her eyes at Santo's and Victor's routine banter.

Mark smirked at her. "Great, now they'll be at it all day just to spite you," he said. He shut the van's passenger door once they were all out. The shuttle driver honked the horn and waved to them, then started off down Titicus to head back to the school. He would return in a few hours with another load of students and to pick those up who were ready to come back.

Sooraya shook her head helplessly. "The things people do to entertain themselves…"

They stood on the Southwest corner of the intersection next to the theater, a modestly-sized brick building with a retro-styled marquee announcing the day's showtimes. A few cars were parked along the sidewalk or in the lot across June, and a handful of people were abroad. The locals were largely accustomed to their presence so for the most part they managed to avoid calling a great deal of attention to themselves, though Victor, Santo and Cessily still drew a few curious looks.

It was a strange sensation whenever she was able to make excursions in public with the trio. Usually her adherence to _hijab_ made her the focus of much curiosity and scrutiny, and events abroad the past decade had proven a two-edged sword as it brought her faith to the forefront of public consciousness (she did not mind the healthy and respectful curiosity some displayed about her beliefs. Unfortunately, it also drew the attention of many who were far less enlightened). In the company of the others she at times was made to feel, well, _normal_ as they drew the looks and questions away from her. She did not take much pleasure in it, though, knowing it only came at the expense of her friends.

Julian edged towards her, watching Laura with a frown as she swept her green eyes across the center of the town. Her expression was wary and alert, and it seemed as if nothing on the streets escaped her notice. "Keep an eye on her," he said in a low voice. "Not that I wouldn't mind seeing her wander off and get lost somewhere."

Sooraya gawked at him, appalled. "Julian!" she said.

"Don't tell me she doesn't creep you out, too."

She scowled at him behind her _niqab_. "Perhaps you should take some time to actually get to know her, rather than judging her out of hand."

"What, does that do _you_ any good?"

"At least I make an effort. This is not one of your high-society 'cliques' that you can scorn anyone who does not fit your lofty standards. With how you treat her I find it little wonder she is afraid to befriend anyone else."

Julian watched as Mark and Cessily headed over to keep Laura from wandering too far from the group alone. "Yeah, well, sorry. I've got my hands full of enough crazy between Santo and Victor. So _you _can have fun with Maleficent over there."

He started away from her towards the other two, who were engaged in a mock shoving match and trading insults. "Hey, Victor! Rock pile!" he called. "Knock off the PDA and let's hit the arcade."

"Oooh! Gonna win me a teddy bear at skee ball?" Santo called back.

"I'll use _you_ for a skee ball. I could probably ramp you into the reservoir from here."

"Twenty bucks on it," Victor said. Julian fell into step with Victor and Santo, and the three started up Titicus Road towards the strip mall.

Sooraya sighed and shook her head at Julian's back as he walked away. Mark and Cessily led Laura over, and Cessily looked between her and Julian with a frown. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"Nothing," Sooraya said, not quite able to eliminate the irritation of dealing with Julian from her voice. Cessily raised an eyebrow, but did not interject. Laura studied her closely in a way that she had to admit she found somewhat unnerving, but brushed the discomfort aside and smiled. "Well then, now that we are here we should show Laura around. I thought we would start with the Grind Stone."

Cessily's face lit up. "Ooh, I hope Luna has those new cherry tarts again." She took Laura by the arm and led her towards the café. "You _have_ to try them, they're _incredible_."

"Only if you don't eat them all first," Mark said as he took Laura's other arm. "For someone who never needs to eat you've got one hell of an appetite for sweets. Not that it ever shows, of course." He tossed Cessily a wink as a bewildered look passed across Laura's face for a moment at finding herself pulled along by the two, and Sooraya nearly laughed aloud at the sight.

"Be careful you don't pull her in half!" she said as she hurried after them. "And you will not all fit through the door like that!"

The Grind Stone Café was a two-story Colonial-style brick storefront, with a large glass window looking out onto Titicus Road decorated with the stylized picture of a steaming coffee cup and the café's name in white block letters. A patio with a wrought iron railing fronting the second-level dwelling where the owner lived overlooked the street. It sheltered the entrance and the four outdoor tables on either side of it from the weather, and lent an old-fashioned touch to its façade.

As they reached the entrance (with Laura still haplessly dragged along between the two, though for her part she seemed to find it at least passingly amusing) Mark released Laura's arm and opened the door to the chime of an electronic bell, and ushered the three girls in with an exaggerated bow and sweep of his arm. Cessily played along with his show of gallantry, while Laura only blinked in confusion at the treatment.

"Thank you, Mark," Sooraya said, smiling into her _niqab_ as she passed him, and he followed her inside.

While the exterior was quite traditional, inside the Grind Stone was trendy and upscale. The checkerboard tile floors were kept clean and polished, and the white walls were hung with photos of both locals and high-profile visitors. The counter at the back-left corner of the dining room and all of the tables and chairs spaced around the floor were of hardwood, and at the far end opposite the counter was a low stage set up for karaoke most nights, or the occasional live performance. Everything about the décor, from the light fixtures to the designs of the tables and chairs was hip and ultra-modern.

As was the owner and proprietor.

Luna DePaula stepped around from behind the counter where she was chatting with a couple other patrons as the four entered, her light brown hair worn in a simple but fashionable style. A black apron embroidered with the same logo as the window over her left breast covered a neatly-pressed white button-down shirt and knee-length black skirt. She was about the same age as Ms. Pryde and rather attractive, and approached them with a welcoming smile which made her quite popular among students accustomed to being met with suspicion or fear.

"Good morning," she said, her voice colored by a hint of a Brooklyn accent. "How are you kids doing today?"

"Just fine, thanks. You?" Cessily said.

"Can't complain. Your big rocky friend isn't with you today, is he? I'll need to get the cook working double-time for that boy's stomach."

Cessily shook her head. "He, Julian and Victor were headed to the arcade. I don't know what they had planned for lunch, though, so they may be back later."

She chuckled. "I'll have Rick stay prepared just in case." Luna smirked when she saw Mark. "Well, hello Mr. Sheppard, how's my favorite heartbreaker?"

Mark gave her a sad look. "I'm afraid I have bad news for you today, Luna, because my heart now belongs to another."

Luna made a show of her fake sigh of disappointment. "Oh dear, and just who is the lucky lady _this_ week?" Her brown eyes fixed on Laura, who during the exchange was sweeping her gaze across the café and everything—and every_one_—inside it.

"Could it be this pretty little thing here?" she asked as she gave Laura a quick looking-over. "I don't think we've met, I'm Luna DePaula, proprietor of this establishment." She extended her hand in greeting.

Laura's green eyes snapped back to Luna, and she looked at the proffered hand for a moment before cautiously reaching out and shaking it, but did not offer her own name in return.

Sooraya chuckled at the look of rejection on Luna's face. "Luna, this is Laura. She does not speak much to any of us, either, so please don't be offended, I am sure that is not her intent."

Luna gave her another quick appraisal as Laura shrunk into her jacket. "Shy, huh?"

"Just…silent."

She offered Laura an understanding smile. "Seems more than a few of you kids come to the school like this. It's a shame really." Luna's smile brightened again and she motioned to one of the tables. "Well, have a seat and I'll be with you in just a minute." She turned her eyes on Cessily and winked. "I've got something for you especially, hon'."

The four seated themselves around one of the tables, and a moment later Luna returned with a tray laden with cherry tarts, which she set on the table along with a drink menu. Cessily squeaked excitedly. "Oh, Luna, I _love_ you!" She grabbed one and stuffed it in her mouth. "I don't know how it works, but thank _god_ I still have a sense of taste," she said around a mouthful of tart.

Luna just shook her head, and glanced at Sooraya with an amused twinkle in her eye. "Oh, and don't worry, the baker says he doesn't use anything _haraam_ in the recipe, so the only thing you have to worry about is your figure if you eat too many."

Sooraya smiled behind her _niqab_ and bowed her head. "Thank you, Luna. Your consideration is always much appreciated." She picked up one of the tarts herself and slipped it beneath her _niqab_ with practiced ease for a bite. The pastry was light, crumbly and slightly sweet, contrasting with the tanginess of the cherry filling, and she decided she had to agree with Cessily's appraisal. "Wonderful!" she said, waiting to finish before she spoke.

"So what can I get you all today?" Luna asked, pulling a notepad and pencil from the pocket in her apron. Laura picked up the drink menu and started to look over it, with Mark peeking over her shoulder while fiddling with his iPod.

"I think I'll have the caffé macchiato today," Cessily said, not even needing to bother looking at it herself.

Luna jotted down the order. "With cocoa?"

Cessily smiled. "Of course!"

Luna chuckled back and looked to Sooraya. "The usual? Turkish, orta şekerli?"

"Yes, thank you!" she said, lifting another bite of her tart to her mouth.

Next she turned to Laura, who was studying the list of available beverages with a look of deep concentration on her features. "And you, sweetie?"

Laura didn't answer, and Cessily frowned when it became clear she was having some difficulties with the menu. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"I have not had coffee before," Laura said.

Luna looked at her with some amusement. "Ah, a virgin, huh?"

Laura looked at her with an odd expression. "No, I am not," she said flatly.

The bite of tart Sooraya was chewing did its absolute best to choke her as she realized just what Laura said, and Mark nearly launched his iPod across the café, juggling it several times before he regained control of it again. Cessily's eyes widened in surprise, and even Luna gawked. Laura looked between them all in bewilderment.

Sooraya coughed to clear her throat of pastry, Mark blushed fiercely and had to look away, halfway between wanting to laugh out loud at the remark and sheer embarrassment for her, and Cessily was the only one able to find her voice. "Um, no, sweetie," she said, thoroughly discomfited by Laura's response. "She…uh…she was talking about you not being a coffee drinker."

Realization settled over her in belated understanding of Luna's meaning. The cues as to what Laura was feeling at any given moment were typically quite subtle. Even the slightest twitch of her lips could mean the difference between a smile or a frown, and so far Sooraya found it incredibly difficult to interpret her moods most of the time. The expression she wore now was probably the closest to outright mortification she could imagine the other girl showing.

"Oh," she said in embarrassment, her voice almost a whisper.

Luna gave her a sympathetic smile, though she also couldn't quite hide the trace of amusement at Laura's candor about such a completely unrelated subject. "It's alright, hon', believe me I hear worse than that day in and day out. As for your order, just trust me and I'll take good care of you."

Laura nodded and folded her hands in her lap, and tried to disappear as far into her jacket as possible. Sooraya expected it would be quite a while before they would get another word out of her.

###

Julian took careful aim, lined up the dart, eyed the path between his hand and the board, cocked back and released. The dart sped through the air, and landed well below and left of the bull's-eye. His other two were scattered as far from each other as was possible within the confines of the board.

"Dammit."

The arcade was less a dedicated video arcade than it was a full-blown amusement center targeted towards teenagers and young adults. Among the rows of game cabinets along the walls were pool, foosball and air hockey tables, dart boards, dining tables and a dance floor all surrounding a snack bar in the center of the room. A big screen TV surrounded by couches and chairs dominated one corner, which during peak hours would typically be turned to whatever sporting event of the day was called for. It was also set up with all the game consoles Julian could name, from current PlayStation and Xbox machines all the way back to an old Atari 2600 lovingly and painstakingly restored to pristine working order and rigged to work on a modern Hi-Def television. Speakers mixed in with the lighting fixtures blasted the current song selection from a jukebox near the bar. Santo was playing something now, vainly trying to entice a couple girls from the North Salem High School to dance. A few other locals were present, most gathered around the television while the rest were occupied at the arcade machines.

He and Victor were making use of one of the dart boards, where Julian was quickly finding himself being thoroughly humiliated. He muttered a stream of curses under his breath as he reached out with his power and retrieved his darts, not even bothering to make the walk of shame across the floor to do so himself.

Victor smiled victoriously. "Nice grouping on that last one," he said.

"Just admit you've got an unfair advantage already, Mr. Enhanced-Agility-and-Coordination."

"It's more fun watching you get angry about it. If it makes you feel better I can make my throws from the other end of the hall."

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and indicated the far wall behind him. Julian grabbed his soda off the table beside them—Coca-Cola from a glass bottle, as it _should_ be served—and took a swig. "Just throw. I should have known better than to agree to No Powers Darts with you. Cheater."

Victor flashed him a smirk, took aim, and deftly speared the bull's-eye with three quick tosses. "Who's cheating? That's pure skill right there."

Julian rolled his eyes as Victor retrieved his darts. Santo, finished making a fool of himself with the girls, lumbered over.

"So did you have any luck?" Julian asked unnecessarily. Santo was certainly big and powerful, but had pretty much nothing else going for him that girls actually looked for.

Santo grunted and folded his arms across his chest. "Nope. Not one phone number, though one asked if she could touch my arm."

Julian groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Please_ tell me you didn't try the 'rock hard' line again."

"Give me a _little_ credit, geeze. I learned my lesson after the first three or four times. I _did_ tell them I'm the star quarterback at school…"

Victor blinked at him. "The school doesn't _have_ a football team," he said. "We can't even get through a game of touch during class breaks with each other without someone using their powers, can you imagine competing for real with teams of normals?"

"I still say that using your tongue to tag me from ten feet away doesn't count as a legal touch. Actually, I think I'd have a case for sexual harassment…"

"Neither does rocket-punching someone when they're about to enter the end zone for a touchdown, while you're standing at the _Fifty Yard line_. It's a good thing Jay has a Healing Factor or he'd probably _still_ be unconscious."

Santo glowered. "What touchdown? He was _flying_, so I'd call that out-of-bounds to begin with. And you have to admit that was a great shot."

Victor rolled his eyes. "It was football, not _skeet shooting_."

Julian smirked as he took a drink from his bottle. "Looked more like duck season to me," he said. "The best part was the cloud of feathers when you hit him." Julian mimed an explosion with his hands. "Poof!"

Even Victor finally cracked a smile at that. "And it took a week for them to start growing back in, too. Jay looked like he had a pair of frozen chicken wings on his back. Not that you still didn't deserve an earful for that."

Santo slapped his knee, sounding for all the world like two boulders smashing together, and broke out into laughter as well. "Yeah, his sister let me have it for that. Ms. Guthrie was _mad_."

"Lucky for you Jay was able to calm her down before she could _actually_ tear your head off and punt it somewhere," Julian said around another swig of his soda. "I don't know if _you_ saw it, but she was getting ready to transform and kick your ass. Too bad, too, because that would have been hilarious to watch."

Santo shuddered. "I hate it when she does that. There's nothing sicker than someone who changes what she's made out of by _ripping off her own skin_."

Julian set his bottle down and took aim at the board again. "Yeah, that's just _nasty_. Though I imagine there's worse ways to manifest. She _could_ have turned out looking like you."

"Hey, I've got the body of a Greek statue."

Julian released one of his darts and cursed as it struck well below the target. "I don't think when people say that they're talking about what it's _made_ from. You're more like something a kindergartner made in art class." He scowled at the dartboard. "Oh to hell with this." His hands glowed green, and as he released the next two darts in quick succession he nudged them with his power to plant them both in the center of the target."

Victor shook his head and chuckled. "_Now_ who's cheating?"

The door chime sounded before he could deliver a suitable retort, and Julian looked over to see a large group of kids about their age—mostly boys, though there were a few girls as well—enter the arcade. Most were wearing combinations of red and black. He spotted at least one letterman jacket on a rather large boy with a cute blonde on his arm, one sweatshirt with "Governors" printed across the front in bold letters, and several wore some sort of face paint. There were more kids milling about outside, and a few additional cars and at least one school bus were parked along the sidewalk.

Julian picked up his soda and took a drink. "That's right, there's a football game over at the high school today," he said. Victor and Santo looked the newcomers over, the latter folding his arms across his broad chest. He set his bottle back down and retrieved his darts with a brief surge of his power. "Your shot, Victor."

"So I guess we can forget about no powers from here on out, right?" Victor said as he lined up his own shot, threw his three darts in rapid succession and scored the bull's-eye on each one.

"I don't see why you're complaining, you've hit the center on every throw."

"I'm telling you, it's pure—"

Victor was cut off by a voice behind them. "Hey, did anyone else know the circus was in town, too?"

_And here we go._

Julian sighed. The locals got along well enough with them, accustomed as they were to forays by the students into town on their downtime. Professor Xavier called it a model example of what the relationship between mutants and normal humans ought to be.

"Must be," another voice added. "Someone let the freak show out of their cages."

Unfortunately, _visitors_ to the North Salem area were another matter.

Julian looked between Victor and Santo and rolled his eyes. "He must have been held back a few years," he said, without turning around but loud enough to make sure his voice carried. "That one's right from My First Book of Mutant Insults."

Santo smirked. "That's the one that's mostly pictures, right?"

"And really big letters," Victor added.

Santo took another look over Julian's shoulder at the newcomers. "I think the big one's eyeballing me."

"Maybe he likes you," Victor said.

"Aw, don't be jealous, sweetums. You know you're the only man for me."

Victor rolled his eyes. "Keep that up and I might start hitting on girls."

"You'd probably have better luck at it than him, too," Julian said.

Julian heard footsteps behind him and casually turned around, leaning against the table next to him and picking up his soda for a drink with one hand, while he nonchalantly put his darts into orbit around himself with his power. The boy approaching him was on the large side, with an ugly mashed-looking face, and wore the DeWitt Clinton letterman Julian noticed in the crowd. The kid looked between him, the darts, Victor and Santo, and scowled.

"I didn't think they served your kind in here."

Julian raised an eyebrow. "'Your kind?' Hey Victor, did we just teleport to 1960s Alabama?"

"I don't think so, my TARDIS is in the shop, the DeLorean is out of gas, and I don't think there's anyone at school who can jump through time. Are you going to throw or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't go climbing up the walls." Julian casually flicked his free hand while he took another drink, and the three darts spinning around his head sped off one by one to each strike the bull's-eye of a different target. That earned him a few dark looks from the newcomers, and the arcade went silent. The local kids looked away from their own activities to see what was happening, but recognizing they were outnumbered by the visitors at the moment decided not to involve themselves.

"Are we supposed to think that's impressive, freak?"

Julian regarded him with a sly smile. "I don't care what you think it is. I'm just surprised your Neanderthal brain is able to string more than two words together."

"That's cute, mutie. You think just because you can do a few magic tricks you're smarter than me?"

"No, I think I'm smarter than you because I'm not the one harassing someone who can hang you from the ceiling by waving my pinky. Don't get me started on what _he_ could do." He jerked his thumb at Santo, who folded his arms across his broad chest and grinned.

"That's enough!" interjected another voice, and the arcade manager, an older man who looked a lot to Julian like Stan Lee, appeared from the back room with one of the staff—a girl who had been working at the snack bar—trailing behind him. "I don't want anyone harassing my customers."

The big kid looked at him incredulously. "_Customers_? You mean you _let_ these freaks in here? What are you, a god-damn mutie lover?" A low laugh rippled around the group, and the older man glared.

"You watch your mouth, kid. These boys are paying just like everyone else, and are doing it without causing trouble to anyone. If you can't do the same then I'll have to ask you all to leave."

The kid flashed Julian a vicious smile, pulled out his wallet, and shoved a few bills into the managers hand. "Dr. Pepper. There, now we're paying customers."

He handed the bills over to the girl and nodded for her to get his order, then turned his attention back to the group. "This is _my_ place and I'll admit who I please. You kids go about your business, but I don't want any trouble. From _any_ of you." He fixed everyone—the Dewitt Clinton kids, and Julian, Victor and Santo—with a glare before turning and leaving the floor. The snack bar girl returned a moment later and handed the kid his soda.

"Come on, Julian, Victor said, "let's get back to our game. Just ignore them."

The kid grabbed Julian by the arm as he moved to turn away, and stepped up into his face. He could feel and smell his breath. "You don't belong here," he said, his voice quiet and menacing. "You and all of your kind should be rounded up and walled off where the rest of us don't have to look at you." He turned his attention on Victor and Santo. "_Especially_ the ones that look like you. Bunch of horror movie rejects. It's disgusting."

"Now that just hurts my feelings," Santo said.

"Be smart," Julian said, and his eyes narrowed as he drained the last of his Coke and set the bottle on the table hard enough to make an audible thud. "I'd hate to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend."

The kid looked over his shoulder at a blonde.

"Hey, she's pretty cute," Santo said. "Wonder what she sees in you, you're not even half the size of the guys I wrestled against when I was still able to compete." Julian noted for the first time the wrestling patch on the kid's jacket. _Of course Santo noticed that one._

"I'm All-State, you freak," he said, stretching to his full height but still barely reaching to the level of Santo's shoulders.

"On what, the girl's squad?" He smiled over at the kid's girlfriend. "You should call me if you want a _real_ rock solid man, baby!"

Julian chuckled under his breath and Victor rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to let those freaks talk about me like that?" she said, and Julian saw his free hand ball in response.

"Do you think that's funny?" the kid asked, and roughly shoved Julian. Santo and Victor caught as he staggered back a step, and he gathered his power as his temper got the better of him.

"No," he said, reaching out and telekinetically ripping the bottle of soda from his hands. The kid yelped in surprise and froze uncertainly as it hovered between them, shaking violently. Julian gave him a wicked smile, and with a flick of his wrist popped the top and sprayed the agitated beverage all over him, his girlfriend, and the front row of kids surrounding them. "But _that_ is."

For a moment silence hung over the arcade as everyone processed what had just happened.

And then the swinging started.

###

Act IV

###

The morning passed quietly, and the Grind Stone remained largely empty until closer to noon when a few locals filtered in for lunch. Some greeted the kids politely, and Cessily drew a few curious looks, but otherwise they were left alone.

Laura remained quiet after her strange comment earlier, listening to the conversation at the table but not contributing anything herself. It was hard for Mark to tell if it was out of embarrassment from her earlier comment, or just her typical silence. The exception was when Luna brought out their orders, and the childlike curiosity that lit her face as she sniffed at her cup and took an experimental drink. She wouldn't say whether or not she _liked_ it, but it seemed to Mark as if it was the _experience_ of something new that mattered most to her, and for her part she seemed content to nurse her cup while the others talked.

Of course, _he_ wasn't content with that.

"So how is it?" he asked after several minutes of watching her drink in silence. Sooraya was venting to Cessily over her latest frustrations with Nori, and for the moment they were the only two not otherwise engaged in the conversation.

Laura shrugged noncommittally and took another sip.

Mark regarded her with some amusement. "I'm going to get _something_ out of you today. At least a smile, maybe even a word or two." He smiled at her, but she didn't respond. So instead he sat back in his chair and looked at her thoughtfully. Laura watched him back, and he felt as if her green eyes—they really were a striking shade, too—would bore a hole clear through him. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it seemed everything she looked at was closely scrutinized and analyzed, and he could see…_something_…turning behind those eyes.

He smiled broadly at her again as a thought came to him. Mark left the table, drink in hand, and headed for the stage. Sooraya and Cessily both saw him get up and stopped their own conversation to watch him curiously. Luna looked away from her work at the counter, and could only roll her eyes as she pieced together what was about to happen. He plugged his iPod into the sound system used for karaoke, powered everything on, found the song he was looking for on his playlist, and grabbed the microphone.

"Good morning, Grind Stone Café!" he said, his voice filling the room. Cessily covered her face, and what Sooraya was thinking was hidden behind her _niqab_. Laura's green eyes were fixed on him, her expression a mix of confusion and curiosity. "There's a little lady out there in the audience today who's been given a bit of a rough time lately, and I think she could use some cheering up. So this one's for you, Laura." He winked at her, and even from the stage he could see a hint of color warming her pale cheeks. Sooraya gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, and Cessily was laughing into her hands.

Mark hit play on his iPod, and the synth and piano introduction characteristic of Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen boomed from the café's speakers as "Love Walks In" began to play, and as the intro concluded and Sammy's powerful voice entered with the lyrics Mark sang along.

###

There were few things Santo loved more than watching a good fight. One of them was _participating_ in a good fight. Unfortunately, because of the strength and mass of his rocky body since his power manifested there were very few of his friends, and even _teachers_, at school who he could actually spar with and not fear mashing them into a bloody smear. Trying to fight against normals was pretty much out of the question altogether.

So when that DeWitt Clinton wrestler took a swing at Julian, Santo resigned himself to watching from the sidelines.

The kid launched a vicious right cross that caught Julian across the jaw before he could react, and it quickly turned into a brutal exchange of face and body-blows until Julian finally seized him by the letterman jacket and pulled it over his head hockey-style to tie him up, and threw him off with a sharp uppercut that knocked him into his friends. The front rank collapsed into the second, and that set off the entire group. They surged forward in a mob, and both Julian and Victor—who happened to be closest when the swinging started—were both swept up in it.

Santo was left on the outside, doubled over with his hands on his knees and laughing uproariously when Julian threw up a shield around himself and Victor, and used it to knock several of the kids flying off of them. The locals fled in a panic, and the girl manning the snack bar ran for the back room. Free of the tangle of bodies trying to bear them down, Julian was back on his feet and fighting back, slamming into one of the wrestler's friends and driving him to the ground. The kid shielded himself against a rhythmic pounding from Julian and managed to deflect most of the blows while another circled behind him to drag him off. However as he raised his hand to take Julian by surprise he was jerked off his feet as something whipped around his wrist and yanked him backwards. Victor's tongue snapped back into his mouth, while at the same time he dodged between two others trying to gang up on him.

"Ha!" Santo shouted over the commotion. "Way to slip 'em the tongue! Just make sure you get his number later!"

Victor ducked a wild haymaker from one of his attackers and used the opening to slip behind him, throwing him into his companion and sending them both crashing into one of the tables, which broke beneath them. A third coming to their aid with a sharp left hook was left spinning as Victor unexpectedly vacated the spot he had been occupying with a leap several times his own height straight up in the air to cling to the ceiling. "You could do something to _help_, you know," he said, swinging back down to drop lightly behind Julian to better cover him as the boy he was pounding finally managed to throw him off and break away.

"We don't want to actually _kill_ them," Santo retorted. A sharp _crack_ split the air, and Santo dully felt the sensation of something striking him across the lower back. He turned to see the wrestler had gotten back to his feet, and now stared in surprise at the broken remnants of the pool cue in his hand. Santo stretched to his full height over the kid and smiled down at him.

The wrestler's face paled. "Oh _shit_," he squeaked.

"Boo!" Santo said, and laughed as his opponent fell over backwards in his haste to escape, and scrabbled away on his hands and knees.

"Knock it off! God damn it! Knock it off!" a voice cried out, and Santo followed the sound to the arcade manager, who was rushing across the floor to try and break up the fight. However by now mob mentality had set in entirely, and the DeWitt kids turned on him as well. Only Julian's quick thinking saved him when he threw a kinetic shield up between the old man and the angry kids, the latter bouncing off and toppling to the floor. Unfortunately that distraction was enough to take his focus off the fight, and he soon found himself ushered towards the window looking out over the sidewalk.

Before Santo could even think of doing anything Julian was thrown through it and out onto the sidewalk with the crash of shattering glass. As Julian rolled around on the ground in a daze and more DeWitt kids outside gathered around him at the commotion, all thoughts of enjoying the fight disappeared from Santo's mind and anger took control. With a bellow of rage he charged after Julian, a quarter ton of living stone scattering everything in his path.

He was dimly aware of Victor calling his name as he burst through the window, but his words fell on deaf ears, as Santo's only thought was for his fallen friend. People bolted in panic as he emerged from the arcade with a roar, mingling with the anger of the kids involved in the fight, and anarchy took control.

###

The music built to a crescendo, and Mark's voice built with it, following Hagar's lead through the final chorus. As the song wound down the patrons of the Grind Stone burst into applause, Cessily's wolf-whistling carrying loudly over the rest. Mark sketched an exaggerated bow, and Cessily and Sooraya both jumped to their feet, clapping wildly. Laura remained seated, but he saw the hint of a smile on her lips. Mission accomplished he grinned back, and was reaching to unplug his iPod when a panicked knot of pedestrians about their age, most dressed in red and black, ran into the café.

"Take cover, mutant riot!" one of the newcomers shouted. Immediately Sooraya buried her face in her hands, and Cessily tried to drop as low into her seat as she could. The locals just stared in confusion. People were running past the window headed west on Titicus, most of them more teenagers dressed like the group that just burst in, and he heard the wail of a siren as a police car rushed by.

Luna was moving quickly, hands planted on her hips and glaring at them. "What the hell do you kids think you're doing screaming riot? Is this some kind of joke?"

"It's no joke, a bunch of them just busted up the arcade down the street," another replied.

_Oh crap, what's Julian done now…_

A third caught sight of Cessily, her liquid metal skin unmistakable, and pointed and yelled. "There's one of them now!"

"Hey, wait a minute—" Luna tried to keep between them and their table as they surged forward, her protests lost in a chorus of some of the most vicious and hate-filled epithets he could imagine. The crush of people quickly overwhelmed her and she was nearly trampled beneath them, only barely managing to crawl out of the way as the crowd made for Cessily. Her eyes widened in panic, but she had nowhere to run. Sooraya and Laura attempted to interpose themselves between her and the crowd but Mark knew that neither girl could hold back the mob.

"_That's enough!_" he snapped into the microphone, the roar of his voice over the sound system bringing the front row of the press up short. He glared at what stood for the leaders of the group and fixed them with as menacing a glare as he could manage.

"She's one of _them_," one of them said. "I bet those other two are mutie-lovers or worse, too!"

"No one lays a hand on any of those girls while I'm here, now back off or I get mad."

Mark quickly thumbed through his iPod, and a smirk crossed his face as he found the perfect song.

"Mark, get down from there!" Sooraya hissed at him. "Don't be a hero, let's just get out of here."

"You're not going _anywhere_, mutie-loving camel jockey. We don't need you terrorists here as it is, but now you're in with _those_ freaks?"

As soon as it became clear the crowd was about to rush forward again Mark hit play, and the opening of "Blaze of Glory" blasted across the café. He jumped down from the stage and strode forward, arms held loosely at his side as he felt his power build with the music, and he clenched his fists. _Time to rock and roll._

"This is your last chance, redneck. Back off," he said, his voice dangerous. All eyes were on him and the kid in front of him, a big blonde guy who probably outweighed him by a good twenty pounds of muscle.

"Mark, don't!" Cessily said.

"Make me," the big kid snapped, and started for Cessily again.

"_I wake up in the mornin' and I raise my weary head," _John Bon Jovi's voice cut in over the speakers, and Mark threw his hands forward as he unleashed his power. A blast of tightly-controlled energy rippled from his hands, fed by the music as it slashed across the café and slammed into the big kid's chest, blasting him backwards several feet both into and knocking down half the mob he'd entered with.

"Anyone else feeling stupid?" Mark barked as the big kid, dazed but not seriously injured—he had held back and not given him the full force of the blast—groggily rose until he was sitting upright, supported by his now very terrified friends. Only the music answered him, feeding his power and building for another blast if needed. More people were running by outside, and the sound of sirens grew louder.

"Mark, time to go!" Cessily said, and took off after Sooraya, who was rushing for a door behind the counter leading to the kitchen in the opening he created. Mark vaulted up onto the stage and grabbed his iPod, killing the music. The energy built up and waiting to be unleashed was cut off as the music died, and he bolted for the back, vaulting over the counter at a dead run and following Cessily and Sooraya as they darted through the kitchen and out a back door Luna, a bit disheveled but otherwise not seriously hurt, held open for them.

"Thanks for the tarts!" Cessily said as she rushed past her.

"Lovely to see you as always!" Mark added as he followed.

The trio found themselves in a lot out back, and now that they were outside they could clearly hear the sounds of panic and anger on the streets. Mark stuffed his iPod in a pocket as he joined Cessily and Sooraya, and suddenly he realized someone was missing.

"Oh _shit_," he said. "Where's Laura?"

Cessily's eyes widened in alarm and even Sooraya's fear was evident behind her _niqab_. "I thought she was right behind me!" Sooraya said.

"We can't just leave her here, that crowd is likely to tear her apart," he said. However before they could do anything else the sound of a police car signaling for their attention cut across the lot, and the trio turned to watch a North Salem cruiser headed their way along the back wall of the café and strip mall with his lights flashing.

And that's when they saw the big Chevy pickup barreling in reverse towards it from where it was parked on the opposite side of the lot.

The rear bumper slammed into the cruiser's fender with a deafening bang, and rubber squealed against asphalt as the truck continued backwards, wedging the cop car against the rear wall of the strip mall. The truck accelerated forward again and swung towards them, and as the driver slammed the brakes and skidded to present the passenger's side doors to them, Mark was stunned to see Laura in the driver's seat.

"Get in," she barked, and with the growing sounds of conflict on the street none of them found themselves able to voice their objections to committing grand theft auto. They all piled on: Cessily and Sooraya on the truck's rear bench, Mark springing into the front passenger's seat and pulling the door shut behind him. Laura slammed her foot on the gas and the truck lurched forward.

###

Julian was back on his feet, dazed and cut up from having just been thrown through a window, but otherwise not seriously harmed.

"Mutie freak!"

"Kick his ass!"

"Tear them apart!"

That, and the chorus of other much more obscene and threatening curses and shouts quickly reminded him that was unlikely to last much longer. Only the telekinetic barrier he'd thrown up around himself, and Santo standing over him roaring furiously, kept the crowd back. It _didn't_, however, stop the hail of rocks, bricks, trash and other assorted missiles plinking off his shield. Trying to hold back Santo at the same time to keep him from hurting someone for _real_ didn't help matters much, either, and he already felt his control weakening.

"Anyone got any bright ideas?" he shouted, the strain of holding his shield up against the barrage evident on his voice.

Victor crouched behind him and Santo. "I'd suggest talking to them, but that's how you got us _into_ this mess in the first place!"

More and more of a crowd was gathering, a mob of red and black pressing closer around the three mutants as they plucked up their courage in the face of the roaring mountain of rock towering over them. Sirens wailed and he could hear police in the back trying to get the crowd under control, and some fighting was breaking out between the visiting DeWitt Clinton kids and their familes, and the locals.

Then came the blast of a car horn, and suddenly the crowd on one side parted as a big Chevy pickup mounted the sidewalk, scattering pedestrians on _both_ sides of the building riot with cries of alarm, nudging a patrol car out of the way, and squealing to a stop between the three and the rest of the crowd. A rear door opened and Cessily peeked out.

"Julian!" she called, beckoning him. None too soon as his control over his power was exhausted

"Cessily?!" he said in disbelief at what he was seeing, and the sight of the truck plowing through the crowd (miraculously avoiding actually _hitting_ anybody) snapped Santo back to his senses.

"Come on!"

"Right." He turned to the others. "Let's go, you two in the back."

Julian scrambled forward and vaulted into the cab, and Santo clambered up into the bed and hauled Victor up behind him. While the rescue was certainly welcome, what he did _not_ like seeing was who was behind the wheel. _What the hell does Laura think she's doing?!_

Mark was in the passenger's seat fumbling with his iPod and plugged it into the truck's stereo. "Hang on hang on," he was saying as Julian dove inside, "I gotta do this." And as Julian slammed the door shut behind him the screaming voice of Brian Johnson filled the cab as AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill" began to play. "Ok, _now _we're ready to go," Mark said. Laura looked at him and a small, amused grin appeared on her face in response.

"Where the hell did you get this?"

"Behind the Grind Stone," she said as she floored the gas and slammed one fist on the horn. The truck accelerated suddenly, throwing the occupants backwards into their seats. Pedestrians cried out in alarm and scattered as she dismounted the sidewalk and swung west on Titicus.

"You _stole a car_?" he shouted back incredulously.

"We needed transportation," she said flatly.

"So you stole a car."

"Maybe they won't know it was us," Santo said through the open rear window, a stupid grin on his face as the truck forced a path into open streets. Already Julian could hear the sound of sirens as the police got back in their own cars to give chase.

Julian beat the back of his head against the bench's headrest in annoyance at that comment. "We're in a stolen pickup occupied by a walking statue, lizard boy, and the T-1000. _Who do you think they're going to confuse us with?_" He glanced at Cessily. "No offense."

"None taken," she said, holding for dear life to the seats in front of her as Laura accelerated, exceeding the speed limit on Titicus by what seemed to him to be 60 miles per hour and weaving like a maniac past pedestrians and other traffic without slowing like some real-life game of _Grand Theft Auto_.

"You should buckle your seatbelts," she said offhandedly, her petite frame already secured in the driver's seat by her own harness. Up ahead Julian saw a highway patrolman's car barreling right towards them trying to cut them off as the North Salem cops got on the radio to coordinate the pursuit. "Oh, shit. Shit. _Shit!_" he said.

Laura braked and cut the wheel hard to the left, sending the truck into a skid and turning down Turkey Hill Road without stopping. Sooraya's shoulder was slammed hard into the side of the cab, Cessily nearly ended up in her lap, (and Julian in _hers_), and somehow Victor and Santo managed to avoid being thrown from the bed entirely. They flew over the bridge crossing the end of the Titicus reservoir where it met the confluence of the Titicus River and Crook Brook, wove around a delivery vehicle, the police still in pursuit and the wailing sirens growing closer.

She cut hard to the right onto Mills, the truck's tires squealing in protest as she took the corner far faster than it was intended to be, and scattered pedestrians and traffic alike. Mark gave a howl of excitement as Angus Young's guitar wailed over the stereo. Laura flashed him another small smile, and behind him Julian could hear Santo having the time of his life as he was thrown around the bed of the truck.

With a long, straight stretch of road ahead of her Laura's foot put the pedal all the way to the floor and Julian felt the truck surge forward. Even with Santo's weight the big diesel V8 had no problems, but the lighter patrol cars were still gaining ground. She wove past the occasional slow-moving vehicle, darting around oncoming traffic and using both shoulders to avoid a collision without slowing. Sooraya's face was a sickly color and her eyes were squeezed tight in prayer. Cessily held the backs of Laura's and Mark's seats in a death grip in the middle of the bench, and Julian's heart was threatening to climb out of his throat and jump screaming out the nearest window.

Mills Road took a right turn and Laura followed it, the truck swerving into the opposite lane and sending a van coming the other way off the road to avoid slamming into it and the pursuing police. Julian looked back to see it halfway off the shoulder. Laura weaved past another few cars, the sirens of the police in pursuit ever growing closer. Up ahead Mills took a sharp left at nearly a right angle to avoid the shores of the Titicus Reservoir and the large estate along it, but Laura showed no sign of letting up on the gas.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't make that turn at this speed!" he shouted. Laura looked over her shoulder at him. "Watch the road! Watch the road!" His voice squeaked in panic as somehow Laura had just enough of an eye on the road ahead of her to dodge past a stalled SUV in their lane.

"How much can you lift?" she asked, her voice eerily calm.

Julian's jaw dropped. "What."

"How much weight can you lift?"

The realization of what she intended him to do struck him like a sledgehammer to the gut. "Are you out of your damn _mind_?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wait, wait. Don't…don't answer that."

"Uh… What's going on?" Cessily asked.

Mark looked over the back of his seat and grinned. Julian gawked at him. He was actually _enjoying_ this. That settled it, Mark and Santo were _both_ officially insane. "Spread your wings and prepare to fly, baby!"

Cessily sunk down as far into her seat as she could and Julian heard her whimper in fright.

Laura's eyes were back on the road, with the turning of Mills approaching at a very unsettling speed. "Now, please," she said, her voice never rising in pitch above a conversational tone.

"Sooraya, I sure as hell hope Allah is listening over there," he said as his hands began to glow and he gathered his power around him. He reached out to the truck, the immense weight of its chassis and occupants heavy in his mind. He'd never lifted anything _this_ freaking big (or fast-moving) before. Julian fought to drive the distraction of the sirens growing louder behind them and the terrified pounding of his own heart from his mind, and started to _lift_.

At first nothing happened, and the truck barreled for the corner of Mills Road, the vibrations of the wheels on pavement transferred into the body of the vehicle and the seats of everyone within.

Then suddenly the rumbling was gone as the truck lifted into the air, and he heard Mark howling in approval like a maniac.

###

Behind them the highway patrolmen and North Salem police could only slam their breaks to avoid plowing into the lawn of the house at the corner, and gawk in disbelief as the pickup they were pursuing lifted into the air and continued on its way across the reservoir.

"Uh, dispatch," one of the troopers said into his radio. "You're not going to believe this…"

###

Act V

###

The group made their way on foot up the drive from the front gate. Laura insisted on ditching the stolen pickup shortly after Julian landed them on the far side of Titicus Reservoir—a bumpy one when his concentration failed out of sheer exhaustion from manipulating _that_ much mass through the air—and they walked the rest of the way back to the school when they refused to allow her to "procure" (as she put it) another vehicle. By the time they finally reached Graymalkin Lane where it turned off of June between Deveau Road and the Tiny Hearts Farm it was late in the afternoon.

The grounds were largely deserted and quiet, and the shadows were growing long as the sun began its westerly descent. Up ahead the lights of the mansion were on and beckoning invitingly, and Julian's mind was on food, a shower, and Sofia in that order.

"Alright, everyone remember," he said as the front door came into view, "If anyone asks we don't know anything."

Laura bunched her eyebrows as she processed that. "Irrelevant, they will ask why we walked."

Julian looked over his shoulder at her. She followed along with the group, surprising them all by showing no more sign of how long and tiring the walk back to school from the North side of the reservoir had been than Victor and Santo. _What the hell _is _she, anyway? _Laura stared back at him, sending a shiver down his spine. "In fact, _you_ don't say anything. We might actually be able to pull this off."

"Pull _what_ off, Mr. Keller," the absolute last voice Julian wanted to hear queried.

There in the main entrance in his wheelchair sat Professor Xavier. A young woman of Asian descent, maybe a dozen years older than them and with a distinctly rocker-chick style stood behind him with the late-afternoon sun glinting off the Oakley's masking her eyes and expression. She'd helped Marie load them up in the shuttle that morning, but none of them caught her name. There was no anger Julian could see on the Professor's features, but the stern expression as he regarded them was probably worse. "I'd like to see you seven in my office, please," he continued. The woman wheeled him back inside, leaving them with no doubt that he meant _now_.

_We are _so _screwed._

###

They gathered in front of Xavier's desk, at which he was sitting with his hands folded in front of him. The woman stood at his shoulder, her sunglasses pushed up on top of her head and watching them with what looked to be a faint smirk of amusement on her face.

"Do you want to be alone?" she asked the Professor.

"No, Jubilee," he said, "That won't be necessary." Then he turned his attention to them. "I don't suppose you realize just how much trouble you're in," he said. "Do you, Mr. Keller?"

Julian swallowed and fought to keep his anxiety off his features. "No, sir," he said, and swallowed, knowing Xavier could easily catch him in any lie he told if he desired.

"Really," he said, and tapped a button on the touchscreen computer display on his desk, swiveling it around for them to view. Melita Garner stood in front of the wrecked arcade with microphone in hand. The glow of a patrol car's lights flashed across her and the ruined storefront, with police tape cordoning off the area around it.

"…where police are currently investigating a _riot_ that occurred earlier this afternoon in Salem Center, New York. Interviews with local residents indicate that the altercation began here, when a fight began between students of the local Xavier School and DeWitt Clinton High School in Brooklyn, who were visiting for a scheduled football game against North Salem…"

Xavier shut off the monitor and regarded them each searchingly. "Do _any_ of you know just how much trouble you are in?"

Before anyone could even think of stopping her, Laura answered him:

"Assault, destruction of property, disturbing the peace, grand theft auto, assaulting a police officer, destruction of police property, speeding, evading the police, failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, failure to stop at an intersection, and multiple counts of vehicular endangerment," she said. Xavier buried his face in his hands as she casually rattled off the list of offenses, and Jubilee's smirk grew more and more amused with each one. Julian's face just turned redder as Laura's confession sunk any hope of them avoiding _jail time_, much less detention, and the others mirrored that sentiment.

"Thank you, Laura," he said tiredly. "Is there anything else you would like to add?"

"I do not have a driver's license," she said, completely missing the sarcasm in his voice. Jubilee couldn't quite stifle a laugh at that, and Xavier fixed her with a rather ineffective glare that did little to wipe the mirth from her features.

"I'm sorry, Professor," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes that formed in her effort to keep a straight face. "But I think I like her, can we keep her?"

Xavier sighed heavily and mopped his face. "I have already had a long conversation with the police during your walk back to school," he said after a moment to collect his thoughts. "Fortunately, most of the witnesses are claiming that it was the visitors who instigated the fight so you _may_ not have to deal with legal charges if a plea deal can be arranged."

Julian released the breath that he had been holding, and his shoulders sagged a bit in relief.

As if noticing the reaction Xavier fixed them all with a disapproving look. "But even if so that does _not_ absolve you of responsibility for your part in this altercation. I am disappointed in all of you. You _know_ that you are not to use your powers against other people as you have today. The residents of Salem Center have come to accept us because we have been able to prove to them over the years that we are no threat and are as much a part of the community as any other residents, and it is _vital_ that we do not lead them to believe that trust is misplaced.

"I will be discussing the legal matters further with our lawyers, and I may request you speak with them as well if it becomes necessary, but for now you seven are not to leave the school grounds for the next two weeks, and the weekends will be spent in detention. Is that understood?"

A smattering of "Yes, Professors," followed.

He eyed them for a moment, then nodded curtly. "Good. Now go on, get cleaned up and find something to eat. We'll talk about this again later."

###

Jubilee watched them go, despite the circumstances still not quite able to wipe the amusement from her face. Xavier turned his attention to her but even that couldn't stop the enjoyment she found in the whole situation.

"Well," Xavier said. "I'm not quite certain if they're up to your level of mischief yet, but they seem to be well on their way."

She smirked. "I'm actually impressed by the footage of that girl's driving," she said. "Where did you say she was from?"

"I didn't," he said. "Laura is an unusual case, and she in particular I feel is the most in need of guidance. I assume you've given my offer some thought?"

Jubilee nodded. "I have. I was planning to take the whole weekend, but seeing you, the kids, Marie and Kitty again… And watching the news of that little adventure, there, it's the most at-home I've felt since I left. And it's certainly entertaining, as well. I think I'll take you up on it."

Xavier smiled, and a hint of amusement finally appeared on his features. "I'm pleased you've agreed," he said. "Well, I think it only appropriate that since you found the antics of our little band of criminals so enjoyable, perhaps you should begin your tenure by overseeing their detention the next two weekends. They might appreciate the stories you have to tell of _your_ many stints there."

Jubilee's mouth dropped open, but found she had to laugh. "I guess I did put my foot right into that one, didn't I." She shook her head. "And to think we used to say you didn't have a sense of humor."

Xavier's response was only a soft chuckle.

###

Mark followed the rest of the group as they filed out of Xavier's office into the library. Julian mopped his face, Santo and victor were noticeably subdued, and even Cessily and Sooraya were downcast. Only Laura seemed generally untroubled by the development.

"Two weeks of detention," Julian said as they made their way along the hall. "Two damn weeks. Sofia's _really_ going to love that. I need to go find Josh to see if he can fix me up before she finds out I was fighting."

"Yeah," Santo said. "S_he's_ the only one allowed to give you a black eye. That was a pretty good fight until they put you through the window."

Julian glared back at him. "Where were _you_ during that?" Then he turned and scowled at Laura. "And didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?"

"Do not talk to her like that," Sooraya said. "I do not think you were _entirely_ innocent in starting that fight."

"Yeah, well, she didn't have to steal a car. And then give the Professor an _entire_ police report." Julian rubbed his jaw, where a nasty bruise had been forming throughout the afternoon. "I'm finding some ice and Josh. Maybe in that order."

Julian stormed off, and the rest of the group gradually broke up to go to their rooms or find something to eat, until Mark was left alone with Laura.

"Well, not exactly the kind of day I was hoping for," he said with a wry grin.

Laura shrugged. "I _did_ enjoy it, nonetheless," she said quietly, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her oversized jacket, and she managed as full a smile as he had seen from her. "Thank you."

Mark grinned at her. "You look so pretty when you do that. You should smile more often."

Laura's cheeks colored slightly, but the smile didn't go away.

"I'm going to grab something to eat, are you hungry?"

She nodded, but didn't say anything else as the smile faded back into her typical stoniness. Mark offered her his arm, which she regarded with a raised eyebrow, and he merely shrugged when she didn't take it. He started down the hall and Laura fell into step beside him.

"Maybe you'd like to tell me where you learned to drive like that," he said. "I'd love to hear about it."

"I would not," she said.

Mark chuckled. Well, it was worth a shot getting her to share something about herself. "Baby steps. You actually smiled today, so I think that's a victory. Just remember I'm going to keep working on you."

There was a sparkle of amusement in Laura's green eyes at that, and they continued down the hall together without another word.

* * *

**A Note From The Author**

So in this episode we get a little action after the more character focus of 1x02, as well as the first appearance of Salem Center, the Grind Stone, and Luna DePaula, which will of course be semi-regular fixtures in this series. I _really_ wanted to use the actual Salem Center, NY as it really exists, however as I started doing a bit of research I discovered that—and no offense to anyone reading who's actually IN the North Salem area—there's…not much to it. Likewise, my main source on the books didn't have much to offer about the area as depicted in the comics, either. So I settled for a little bit of artistic license by adding the movie theater, Grind Stone, and the strip mall containing the arcade to the Southeast corner of June and Titicus, which is undeveloped according to Google Maps (in fact it looks like it's part of somebody's _really_ big back yard).

For those not aware, DeWitt Clinton High School is an actual school in the Bronx. In fact it's the alma mater of Stan Lee himself. I'm just going to pretend that I was aware of this bit of trivia all along and that it wasn't entirely a coincidence it's the school I happened to pick to be the antagonists in this episode.

I also want to note that I grew up on the 90s X-Men 'toon, so when the film came out I was a bit surprised and disappointed to see Jubilee relegated to a cameo, and her relationship with Wolverine given to Rogue instead. I realized that I should probably have a "main" adult character for the kids to interact with on a regular basis since the budget probably couldn't afford to have Patrick Stewart, Anna Paquin, or Ellen Page show up regularly, so Jubilee got the call. Obviously, there's no Decimation event in this 'verse and I won't be having vampires, so Jubilee gets her normal power set again. So rather than having her run a home for depowered mutants, she became a social worker in California, which I felt worked with the spirit of the character's history in the books and set up a nice nod to her back story. This is _not_ the character I mentioned is still waiting for an appearance in the note for the last episode, though. Like Wither, Jubilee was sort of a late addition.

And yes, I'd totally want to have Stan Lee play the arcade owner. Finally, for the sharp-eyed reader the cartoon that Laura was watching is an actual Roadrunner short. See if you can guess which one.


	4. 1x04 - Grounded

1x04

Grounded

###

Act I

###

"I can't believe we've got to spend the weekend in a classroom," Julian said as he made his way down the dormitory hallway with Santo and Victor walking along beside him. He wasn't in a particular hurry to leave his room that morning, knowing the new student advisor was waiting to suck eight hours of his life away. Neither he, Victor nor Santo had much of an opportunity to interact with her over the past week, and he certainly didn't have much interest in it. The whole concept of her trying to be their "friend" was _way_ too teen drama for his tastes. He got enough of that watching television with Sofia to want to deal with it in real life.

Victor shrugged. "Considering we _could_ be sitting in jail right now I think we got off easy."

Julian scowled at that. Those DeWitt kids had been looking for trouble, and no matter _what_ he did they would have grabbed for any excuse they could get their hands on to start a fight. Granted he was more than willing to give them one back, but that wasn't the point. Besides, he didn't steal a damn car. _That_ honor went to the bit of crazy he saw emerging from a room up ahead, dressed all in black (of course she was, did she even _see_ color?); black jeans, black tube top, black half-sleeves from wrist to elbow, black choker with golden locket she never seemed to take off… The only other bit of color she had was the green eyes that immediately snapped in their direction.

"Hey, all _I _really did was get thrown through a window," he said. "_She's_ the one who stole a car and went all _The Fast and the Furious_ across Salem Center." He jerked his thumb towards Laura.

"That reminds me, if we ever decide to switch from _Team Fortress_ to a racing league I vote we grab her before Nori does," Victor said. "We can't lose."

Julian glared at him. "I already don't even want to share a classroom with her for eight hours. Hell, no one even wants to share a _dorm_ with her." He didn't bother lowering his voice for that, earning him a disapproving glare from Victor, but if Laura heard him she didn't show it and just pressed herself against the wall to give them room to pass.

"You could show at least a _little_ gratitude. She's the one who got us out of your riot."

Santo grunted. "Who asked her? I was having a blast. Well, at least until those kids introduced Julian to the window." They turned at the end of the hall and made their way downstairs. "Ok, and I'll admit the police chase was pretty damn awesome. It was like being in an episode of _Cops_. I'd love to know where she learned to drive like that," the big mutant added.

"_I'd_ still like to know where the hell you get clothes that actually fit," Julian said. "I envision terrified Big and Tall store clerks running screaming from the building. But that still doesn't mean I care enough to ask."

"Aw, I thought you dug my style."

Julian rolled his eyes. "I do know this: There's no way in hell I'm leaving my door unlocked with her around. She's already stolen a car, who knows what else she might walk off with."

"You've got to be kidding," Victor said incredulously. "You _really_ think she'd break into your room?"

Julian shrugged as they passed the hall leading to the West classroom and entered the lounge. No way was he going to detention on an empty stomach. "What does anyone even know about her? She can hotwire a car and pick the driver's door. And she's always wearing the Wolverine's jacket, how much you want to bet he caught her trying to rob him."

"I don't know," Santo said doubtfully. "She's awfully…alive for that. And in one piece, even if it is a bite-sized one."

Victor rubbed his scaly forehead. "You're an incredible human being, Julian. Is _everyone_ who doesn't have mommy and daddy paying their way a criminal to you? You did the same thing with Nori."

"And I wasn't all wrong then, either. If you don't want to believe me, fine," he said. "But I get to say 'I told you so,' when stuff comes up missing."

"I'd say it's more of an 'if'. And a _big_ 'if' at that."

"If. When. Whatever. The point I'm trying to make is—"

Victor grabbed him by the arm and brought him up short, spitting him with as fierce a glare as Julian had ever seen. "The point you're trying to make is that you think you can judge everyone. Whether you want to admit it or not, Laura saved _all_ our asses last weekend. You're lucky you just walked away from that fight with a few scratches and a busted up jaw. Santo's lucky he didn't _kill_ anybody when he lost his cool. _I'm_ lucky you stirring up trouble with those DeWitt kids didn't get us all locked up."

Julian threw his hand off his arm. "What the hell is _your_ problem this morning?"

"_My_ problem is that I've got to spend eight hours cooped up in a room with you over a fight _you_ started and are too pig-headed to realize and take responsibility for. I enjoy tweaking normals when they come looking for trouble as much as the next mutant, but you pushed things too far."

"I didn't push _anything_. Those kids wanted a fight and I gave them one."

Victor threw his hands up in the air and growled in exasperation. "You know what, I'm not all that hungry. I'll see you in detention. I think I've had my fill of your self-righteous ego for right now."

He turned and stormed out of the lounge, leaving him and Santo alone. Julian looked up at the big mutant and shrugged helplessly.

"What the hell did I say?"

###

Nori made a final adjustment to the fall of her hair and regarded herself in her bedroom mirror. She hated being stuck having to work on a Saturday, so she might as well look good while she was at it. Fortunately, Luna was fairly lax on dress code and encouraged her employees to express their personal styles, so at least she didn't have to deal with tasteless uniforms. She was actually surprised Luna didn't cancel her shift altogether after the trouble last weekend, but a call never came, so here she was getting ready to catch the shuttle.

Sooraya was up as well, already in her _abaya _but with her face uncovered, sitting in front of her own mirror and brushing out long hair the color of dark chocolate. Without her _niqab_ masking her face she really was quite a pretty girl, with finely shaped features and large, dark, almond-shaped eyes. More reason Nori just didn't understand why she would hide behind such a deceptively barbaric thing.

"I don't get why you bother," Nori said, giving voice to the thought. She watched her from the end of her bed while she slipped on a pair of heels. "No one's going to see it, anyway."

Sooraya didn't stop tending her hair, or even turn to face her. "Adherence to _hijab_ does not mean one does not take care of oneself," she said.

"Yeah, but no one's going to _see_ it."

She sighed impatiently, set the brush down on the dresser and turned to face her. "Is how others see you all that matters? Is simple cleanliness and hygiene not important?"

Nori made a face. "No, I'm not saying that. Ugh, I couldn't go a day without a shower even if it _is _like throwing a toaster into the tub whenever I go in there, but you take too much care of yourself and are too pretty to keep hiding it."

"How many times must we tread this ground? You focus too much on what others think of you. I am satisfied with myself as Allah made me, and will respect that by _taking care_ of what I was given."

"Yeah, and then you go and hide what he gave you from everyone else. Don't you think he'd want his handiwork to be seen?"

Sooraya rolled her eyes in exasperation and turned back to her mirror to resume brushing her hair. "_That_ would be vanity."

Nori threw up her hands in disgust. "You are _impossible_."

She finished and laid her brush down. "No, I am content. In trusting Allah I need not concern myself with what others think, and obsess over such trivial things as appearance."

"Hah! I wonder what Allah thinks of your spending time in detention today. For all your preaching that comes across as hypocrisy to me."

Sooraya picked up her _niqab_ and slipped it on over her head, adjusting it carefully so she could see clearly while still ensuring she was properly covered. "I _never_ preach, for I respect your right to believe what you wish. I accept the punishment Professor Xavier meted out because I _was_ complicit in what happened, however small my role."

"Yeah, I heard Laura stole a car. Don't you people cut off hands for that sort of thing?"

Sooraya turned and faced her with a glare. "_That_ is Medieval barbarism."

"So is walking up and shooting a girl in the head just for going to school, or cutting off their daughters' for rejecting an arranged marriage."

"Need I remind you of your _own_ people's not-so-distant history? Of the women enslaved for the pleasure of soldiers, or the execution, starvation and torture of prisoners of war because they were deemed less than human and dishonored by capture?"

Nori felt her power crackle at that, and it took a great deal of effort to allow the massive electrical surge building in her body to discharge harmlessly into her gauntlets rather than lash out with it. "That was seventy years ago," she snapped, feeling her face heat. "My _parents_ hadn't even been born yet."

"And I lost my family to the same monsters with whom you would associate _all_ who follow my faith." Sooraya quickly rose to her feet. "Judge the ones who wield the sword, Noriko, don't lay blame blindly for no better reason than association. We face enough of that in our lives as it is." She started for the door and added, almost as if as a parting shot, "May Allah grant you a blessed day."

And then she was gone, and Nori was left alone in their room trying to decide whether that was sarcasm she heard in the other girl's voice.

###

Sooraya closed the door behind her, her temper getting the better of her in the form of a stream of Arabic invective. She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath to forcibly release her anger while mentally begging Allah for the strength not to scour Nori's flesh from her bones, and forgiveness for having such a thought in the first place.

And as she opened her eyes again she nearly jumped straight out of her _abaya_ when she saw Laura standing in front of her, having not even heard her approach.

"Oh! Laura," she said in surprise. Sooraya straightened out her _abaya_. "Good morning, I hope you slept well."

Laura cocked her head, her green eyes studying her curiously. "My sleep was undisturbed," she said, and an odd look passed across her features. "I startled you." She made that last part a statement of fact.

Sooraya smiled. "I merely did not see you there, and I apologize if I nearly ran you down just now."

"You did not," she said. Sooraya nodded and the pair started down the dormitory hallway together. "You are upset this morning." Another statement of fact.

She shook her head. "No, not at all," Sooraya said. Laura arched an eyebrow as if she saw through the fib, and the expression drew an embarrassed sigh from her. "Noriko is merely very…certain of her worldview, and seldom allows the feelings or views of others to challenge it. Or even enter into her consideration at all."

Laura frowned and looked back to the path ahead of them. "She was disparaging of your faith." Once again, that was stated without a hint of a question.

It was Sooraya's turn to look at Laura, marveling at the astuteness of her observations. _Telepathy? No, she has shown no indication of it before._ Even nearly a month after arriving the girl remained strangely evasive about the nature of her mutation, and while Laura had largely attached herself to she and Cessily—Mark as well, now that Sooraya thought of it, and particularly since the events of the previous weekend—and was beginning to become more talkative around them, she continued to evade questions about who she was or where she came from.

"She was," Sooraya said, and set aside her musings. They reached the stairs leading to the sitting room and followed them down.

"That is unfortunate," she said. "Religious differences have been a significant source of violent confrontations throughout history, despite no objective means of concluding that God even exists and supports one particular system of belief over another." Laura's purely academic tone as she said that made Sooraya blink.

"You do not believe in God?" Sooraya asked, giving voice to her surprise at the other's observation.

"I…do not know," Laura said.

"Surely you must have gone to worship services when you were young."

"No." There was a hardness in her response, and though her expression was, as usual, difficult to read, Sooraya guessed she must have touched on a sensitive subject.

Sooraya considered that a moment, before continuing. "The Quran recognizes Moses and Jesus Christ as prophets of Allah, and we hold great respect for the Virgin Mary, so I see no reason why there must be so much conflict between our faiths when we are all so similar. At the risk of oversimplifying, even the division between Christian and Jew comes down in the end to the nature and identity of the Messiah." She sighed. "You are right that it is unfortunate there has been so much hatred and violence over what, in the end, amounts to mere words. My beliefs are my own, but that does not mean that it invalidates the beliefs of others. Who is to say that God cannot wear more than one face?"

Laura shrugged, and said nothing more on the subject as they turned down the hall leading to the classroom where detention would be held. "Well, I suppose that is a debate for another time," Sooraya said. She gave Laura a small smile. "This will be my first time in detention. I must admit I'm not certain what to expect."

A pained look passed across Laura's green eyes. "I have endured punishment before," she said. "I cannot say how this will compare."

Sooraya frowned at that as curiosity over Laura's past built once more, but she forced the questions to the back of her mind knowing the other girl would just find a way to evade them.

"Well, we shall see together, then," she said instead, and they headed into the classroom.

###

Act II

###

Jay Guthrie stood alone. The wind was chill and most of the trees were bare, littering the ground with a carpet of red and gold, and filling the air with the fresh scent of fallen leaves. The voices of other students enjoying their Saturday morning on the grounds of the school—since the trouble last weekend most opted to forgo the shuttle into Salem Center over the past week—echoed quietly among the trees, the only sound of life as North America continued the slow march towards its winter sleep.

His thoughts soon turned to home; the winding of the Cumberland River as it snaked across Kentucky to where it emptied into the Ohio. The coal mines where he lost his father. The hard-working blue-collar folk. His mother still running the family farm, and the seven brothers and sisters he left behind when he was sent away to school. Well, six, now: Melody had joined him here not long ago. It was her turn of course, just as he had joined Paige—though she had been teaching here for a couple years now—and Sam was likely off somewhere with the X-Men doing something important, insane, or both.

And then he thought of Julia.

Jay took a deep breath and let it out, trying his best to filter out the dull ache near his heart at memories of her. The day was bright and clear, so he shrugged off his jacket and let his wings unfold; copper-colored feathers matching his hair gleamed in the morning sun. He stretched them out to full span, relieving the slight cramp in the flight muscles along his back and shoulders from having kept them folded for much of the night and morning. Then he leapt into the air, powerful downward strokes propelling him upwards until he broke free of the empty trees and into the open air above.

He spiraled ever higher, ignoring the biting chill of the wind as he sought the freedom of the skies. He twisted and spun, a smile managing to find its way to his face at the sheer joy of something few others could experience.

"Jay!" a distant voice called from below. For most it would have been lost by distance and the rush of the wind, but not to his keen hearing adapted by mutation for just this purpose.

Jay banked and entered a slow circuit, sweeping the ground far below with keen green eyes. An occasional beat of his wings maintained his airspeed and kept him aloft. There, he saw her in a small clearing among a few oaks on a stretch of the school's property not far from where he lifted. Melody had been looking for him.

He continued to circle, not particularly inclined at that moment to end his morning flight. As if she realized what he was thinking, his sharp eyes picked out the glowing aura as his little sister gathered her power and came to him, practically exploding upwards like a rocket to hover in the center of his orbit.

"There you are!" she said, her voice colored by a slight Cumberland twang. She was fifteen and tall for her age, with long brown hair like their mother's in her youth whipping past her head from the rushing wind at their current altitude. She bobbed a bit, her control over her power not quite strong enough to perfectly correct for the subtle shifts in the wind or the turbulence he created as he circled her.

Jay smiled and threw himself through a series of loops and rolls, to annoyed shouts of "Show off!" while she turned to follow him around his circuit.

"Good mornin'," he said in his own matching drawl.

"Oh good mornin' yourself," she said, folding her arms across her chest and giving him her best angry-little-sister glare. "What are you doing out here? I thought you were takin' me into town today."

Jay rolled and danced around her. "You're still wantin' to go? Most of the others have been stickin' around the school this week."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Just because Julian Keller and his stupid friends got themselves in trouble last weekend don't have to spoil it for everyone else," she said.

Jay managed a smile at that. "Julian's pretty good at ruinin' things for lots of people."

"Yeah, well, he ain't goin' to ruin things for _me_." She crossed her legs beneath her Indian-style and continued to hover as she glared at him, bobbing in the wind and looking like something out of some absurd old cartoon.

He laughed. "Are you goin' to tell him so yourself?"

"I just might."

"You know he'll just tee-kay you across the grounds when you start to annoy him." He flashed a mischievous smile. "Sometimes I envy him."

"Oh very funny. Fine, if you won't take me I'll just go myself. It's barely even a mile straight flight."

"Last time you made it halfway and I had to carry you the rest of it."

She glared at him. "My power is a lot stronger now, I've been practicin'."

Jay grinned and spun around her, picking up his bearings. "Oh yeah? Prove it. Last one to the Grind Stone buys."

He rolled over and dove to the ground, accelerating rapidly for a few moments before spreading his wings and leveling out, powerful beats driving him forward as he took off towards the Southwest, not even waiting to see if Melody had started to follow.

###

Jubilee sat perched on the edge of the teacher's desk facing them, her legs crossed, and counted.

_Cessily. Victor. Julian and Santo make four…_

Sooraya entered with Laura, the latter's green eyes quickly darting to each person in the room and the wheels clicking behind them. _What_ the girl was thinking Jubilee couldn't imagine, but from what little contact she'd had with her, she quickly learned that Laura's mind was constantly working on…_something_ when she entered a room.

_Sooraya and Laura. Six. All that's left is… Ah, there he is._

Mark arrived last, huffing slightly from having run from some distant part of the school to arrive just in time. He flashed a lopsided grin at her, and Jubilee held out her hand to him.

"Let's have it, Mark," she said.

He bunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Huh?"

"The iPod. You can have it back when we're done for the day."

Mark rolled his eyes and visibly deflated, drawing amused chuckles from most of the others (Laura smiled at him in a rare show of emotion, but otherwise remained silent). "Aw, man," he said as he reached into his pocket and produced it.

She set it on the desk and extended her hand once more. "The ear bud, too."

He blinked at her. "How did you…" he started, and trailed off at the knowing smirk on her lips.

"Let's go, out with it."

Mark sighed, dug into his pocket one last time, and handed her a small radio with a built-in ear bud. Jubilee chuckled and added it to the pile of other contraband next to her: a couple other MP3 players or pocket radios, two 3DSs, a PSP, more or less a smart phone for everyone, and a collection of magazines and comic books Santo had tried hiding inside his textbooks. She nodded to the rows of chairs. "Go on, have a seat," she said.

Mark stomped away in frustration at the thought of spending the next eight hours without music to entertain him, and dropped dejectedly into a desk next to Laura. Jubilee smiled and shook her head, then turned her attention to the others.

"Well, here we are," she said. "I know I don't need to tell you why you're here."

"You're not going to have us write a paper on this later, are you? Who we think we are or something stupid like that?" Julian said. He slumped in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "This isn't the _Breakfast Club_."

"Oh! Oh!" Santo said excitedly, waving his hand at her. "Can I be Bender?"

Julian let out a groan and mopped his face with both hands.

"Nope. No essays, no letters. I happen to know for a fact they don't work," she said.

"Corporal punishment, then. Got your switch with you?"

A strange look passed across Laura's face at that remark and she shrunk into her chair.

"Uh, _hello_, this is the Twenty-First century," she said. "You don't think I'm _that_ old do you?"

"Which answer avoids another day in lockdown?"

All of the others except Laura and Sooraya chuckled at that, and even Jubilee found a bit of amusement in the remark. _Oh, this is going to be fun._

Jubilee uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands in front of her. "You know, I spent quite a few weekends in that chair myself," she said.

"Oh, so it's story time, then?"

She chuckled. "In fact I had the exact same problem with authority as you do."

Julian looked away from the ceiling and at her, but remained slouched casually, leaning his head on his fist. "It all makes perfect sense you'd come back as a teacher then."

Jubilee let out a sharp laugh. "Not with my grades, and considering what _I_ put the teachers through there's no way I'd just stand up here and take it from kids like you." She raised a hand palm upward and casually called her power, and a small ball of brightly-colored plasma briefly formed in her palm with a piercing shriek that made Julian suddenly sit up a bit straighter. She gave him a wink and a smirk. "I'm sure the parents would complain about my approach to discipline." Jubilee flipped the plasma ball up into the air where it disappeared with a sharp _"paf"_ and a flash of light.

"Oh, pretty!" Santo said.

"So don't go thinking you can give me any trouble I can't handle, dude. I've _been_ more trouble than you can even imagine, so I know _all_ the tricks and invented a bunch of them myself."

He smirked back at her, an arrogant twist of one corner of his lip. "Am I supposed to be impressed."

Jubilee hopped down from the desk and leaned her backside against it. "If you want to be. But I'm _not_ here to impress you or entertain you. Just keep an eye on you. _Especially_ you. Your reputation precedes you."

"Oh good, and here I thought this was just going to be a waste of a perfectly good Saturday."

She chuckled back at him. "Well, that all depends on what you do with it. Seeing as I've done a bit of checking up with your teachers I know most of you have class work due on Monday, so this might be a good time to be productive. Otherwise it's going to be a _long_ eight hours."

###

This was going to be a _long_ eight hours.

Nori leaned on the counter over the fashion mag she'd borrowed from the rack and sighed. The Grind Stone had more or less been spared from the destruction of Julian's riot, aside from one big DeWitt Clinton kid who wet himself (and left a large puddle on the floor) after being blasted across the dining room by Mark Sheppard. Most of the activity had been further east on Titicus along the strip mall, and the local cops responded with impressive speed to contain the worst of it. That no one had been _seriously_ injured was a miracle in of itself.

That didn't prevent the mood in town this weekend from being unusually subdued. The North Salem High School football team was out of town, so there wouldn't be rowdy teenage visitors to contend with again. But at least that would have meant _something_ going on since most of her friends had been avoiding Salem Center in the wake of the fight.

She flipped the page of the magazine and took a mental note of the projected trends for the coming Winter and Spring seasons. Most of them were overreacting, of course; Nori arrived on the shuttle and not one of the locals so much as batted an eye at her. Not that she could _really_ blame them for their caution, though. So many of them had fallen on the bad side of the more zealous bigots they expected to see torches and pitchforks every time they stepped outside the school.

"Seeing anything good in there?" Luna said. Nori looked up to see her standing over her, one eyebrow arched high as she looked at the magazine over her shoulder.

"Nothing much so far," Nori said, not bothering to hide her boredom as she turned her attention back to the magazine.

"Well, you should probably put it back then, I'm not paying you to study fashion." Luna leaned over and tapped an outfit on one page. "Ooh, my girlfriend would look cute in that."

Nori sighed. "The counter and all the tables have been wiped down five times already. I've restocked the front and kitchen, checked the inventory, then double-checked it. And triple-checked it. I've swept the floor, cleaned the windows inside _and _out, and emptied the trash. And there's only been two customers this morning. It's just _dead_ in here today."

"Yeah, well I guess people have been a bit gun shy since all the excitement last weekend," Luna said. "I couldn't help but notice your classmates have been steering clear of town."

"Most of them are afraid if they show their faces there's going to be trouble. Julian Keller is one reason why we can't have nice things." She made a face at mention of his name.

Luna folded her arms across her chest and leaned her hip into the counter. "I think most of the folks here realize that it was the city kids that were looking for a fight. How is everyone, by the way? Last I saw of Sooraya and her group was when they took off out the back, though I heard no one was hurt too badly."

"Detention," Nori said and smirked. "Two weekends of it and the Professor has them confined to the grounds during the week to keep them out of trouble. But considering it's Julian I don't think that will stop him."

Luna chuckled. "That boy's got a big chip on his shoulder. Probably couldn't hurt him to have it knocked off."

Nori groaned in disgust. "Tell me about it. I can't be in a room with him longer than five minutes without wanting to play human bug zapper with him." As if in response to that thought she felt a crackle of energy dance across her skin, and the light overhead flickered for a moment. She quickly discharged the surge of power into her gauntlets. Luna noticed the display but disregarded it without the show of fear Nori was accustomed to from others when her power activated unbidden. Her quiet tolerance of the strange things that tended to happen around students of the Xavier School was one of the things that made her café so popular among them. "I'm not sure _how_ Sofia manages to put up with him and not send him off to Oz."

The door chime rang and a group of locals entered and approached the counter. "Lots of patience, I imagine," Luna said. "Well, looks like the break's over." She slipped the magazine out from under her and returned it to the rack. "Save it for your lunch time, hon'."

Nori rolled her eyes and got back to work.

###

"Is…um…is it supposed to be doing that?" Laurie asked.

Josh frowned at the black concoction smoking in the beaker. "Huh," he grunted. "That…wasn't what I expected."

David leaned in cautiously and peered at the reaction through his safety goggles. "Where are the lab instructions again? You measured them, right?"

"I checked them three times."

Laurie chewed her lower lip and watched them from where she was sitting, out of the way in a corner of Dr. McCoy's lab set aside as a work area for the students. Beakers, burners, test tubes and a variety of paraphernalia and apparatuses she couldn't name were neatly organized into individual workstations separated by sinks for cleaning up equipment and chemicals.

"That can't have been right," David said with a frown as he tapped the side of the beaker.

Josh scowled at the instructions as he read through them again. Laurie watched him work, his brow furrowed as he read each line of the handout and cross-checked it with his notebook. Waves of annoyance and frustration rolled off both of the boys, but she kept a tight grip on her power to keep them from overwhelming her own feelings, which were… calm, content and happy. She marveled at that. For so long after her power manifested she had been afraid of herself and others, but now…?

"What's so funny?" Josh asked her, and Laurie snapped out of her reverie to find him looking at her. She suddenly realized she was smiling at him. Laurie blushed but that just made her smile even more.

"Nothing," she said, trying to hide her expression behind her hand. "I was just thinking about something."

"Was it about this lab?" David asked. "Because I'm actually a little perturbed, here."

"No," she said, trying not to laugh at the mock-serious look Josh was giving her in response to David's single-minded focus on their experiment. "Just…thinking."

Josh grinned. "Maybe you should send some of those good vibes David's way," he said.

Laurie blushed even more fiercely and she giggled. "Um…I don't think he'd welcome these ones…"

It was Josh's turn to blush at that.

David glared at the beaker like it was Julian talking down about his power again. "We're the two smartest kids in this school," he grumbled. "You would think _one_ of us would have figured out what went wrong."

Josh tore his eyes away from her with an effort and reluctantly turned his attention back to the failed experiment. "Temperature was fine, everything was measured out right, and we got the procedure perfect. Sometimes things just…don't do what they're supposed to. That's why we're supposed to run it five times to begin with."

"No, there's _got_ to be a reason for it, check the math again."

Josh groaned. "Come _on_, David. Let's just start over and try it again as-is. I can check the notes a dozen more times and it's not going to change anything. It's futile."

David folded his arms across his chest and frowned at the beaker again as if willing their experiment to do what he wanted. "I'm a Cubs fan, Josh, I know all there is to know about futility."

"And I'm telling you it's a waste of time."

"Fine then, _I'll_ do the math this time. You were probably too busy making eyes with Laurie and forgot to carry a digit. Where's your notebook?"

"Hey, keep your hands off my notes!" he snapped as David grabbed for the book and Josh fumbled to rescue it before his work could be poked, prodded, and filled with holes he didn't believe were really there. Unfortunately he wasn't quite fast enough and David snatched up the notebook and started thumbing through it with Josh glowering at him.

"Hm. This all looks right," David said with mild surprise.

Josh buried his face in his palm and groaned, drawing another amused giggle from Laurie as she watched them spar. Oh sure, it wasn't quite as dramatic as Santo and Victor, but watching Josh and David pick at each other could be just as entertaining.

David just looked at her impatiently. "Don't you have anything better to do? You distracting him isn't helping us get this right."

"You know her being here is the only reason I haven't gone all Neil deGrasse Tyson on you," Josh said as he snatched his notebook back.

"What, by demoting me to a dwarf planet?" David grabbed the beaker off the table and rinsed it out in the sink, taking great care to get the leftover gunk from their first attempt out.

Josh started picking through bottles of a few chemicals. Laurie couldn't see their labels, and probably wouldn't have been able to pronounce their names even if she could. "What, you don't think I could take you?"

"You're kidding, right? I'd know all your moves before you could even think it. You and Laurie are still honeymooning, I'd hate to embarrass you in front of her."

Josh peered over one of the bottles he was checking and grinned across the work area at her. She smiled back at him. "Laurie's actually my secret weapon. Plus one Morale Bonus. And she can get a literal Power of Love thing going."

"Right, so you'd cheat."

"Says the guy who skill-grabbed to help his girlfriend win a _Team Fortress_ tournament."

David set the beaker down on the counter, and Josh started mixing the chemicals again. "That wasn't for Nori, that was to teach Julian a lesson about talking down other peoples' powers. And it was absolutely worth seeing his reaction when he lost."

"And I'm sure Nori was _very_ appreciative later," Josh said with a wink at Laurie. She felt a subtle shift in David's mood, and though she didn't have telepathy she certainly didn't need it to know just what sort of memories Josh's comment triggered. She blushed at the sensation and forced the feelings away.

"_That_ is none of your business," David said. He crouched over the counter to watch the reaction as Josh started mixing.

"When you two are getting a bit frisky in the lounge you kind of make it other peoples' business. How are we looking?"

A grin spread across David's face as the chemicals began to react, turning bright pink and bubbling slightly. "Beautiful, it's working."

"See? I _told_ you my math was right." Josh winked at Laurie, and she smiled as she felt his sense of _triumph_ wash over her.

###

Act III

###

Jay shifted the angle of his wings and beat against the rush of air to slow him as he descended towards the street below. Pedestrians making their ways along Titicus looked up and a few pointed, and with a rustle of feathers he lightly touched down on the sidewalk among them and folded his wings tightly against his back. Melody followed close behind with his jacket clutched in one hand, and she wobbled in the air as her control wavered. If anything, her arrival drew even more onlookers given her flying with no obvious means of lift or propulsion. Otherwise the locals passed them by as they saw to their own business, accustomed as they were to the mutant presence nearby, though a few younger children out on the streets watched them curiously.

Melody stumbled awkwardly as she landed and leaned an arm against him to catch her breath from the strain of the chase. "Good Lord, that was further than I thought," she panted.

Jay chuckled softly. "Do you need to sit down? You look like you're about to collapse."

"I'm fine," she said. "Here." Melody shoved his jacket into his arms. "Momma will _kill_ you if you lose that after how much she spent on it."

He threaded his arms through the sleeves and settled it over his folded wings. "You might have actually beaten me if you hadn't stopped for it," he said.

"What do you mean, you beat me?"

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Last one to the Grind Stone, remember?"

"Oh yeah, right. Well, we're not actually _there_ yet," she said as she took off running for the door of the café.

Her sudden movement caught him so completely by surprise that for a moment Jay just stared after her, before breaking into a run after her. That brief head start was all she needed, though, and Melody flung open the door of the café and rushed in with Jay a few steps behind her. She skittered to a stop at the counter just ahead of him, laughing when he grabbed her from behind and tried to push her behind him.

Nori just blinked at them with bemusement from behind the counter.

"First! I win!" Melody giggled.

"Cheater."

"I am not! Hey, Nori," she said.

"Are too, I said first one _to_ the Grind Stone. You don't tack on an extra lap at the same time as you give yourself a head start."

Melody just stuck her tongue out at him and Jay grabbed her in a headlock, drawing another burst of laughter from her. "Ah! Stop it or I'll tell mom you've been mean to me!"

"Uh guys," Nori said, hiding her face in embarrassment over the pair's behavior. There were a few locals seated at a table in one corner watching the exchange with amusement. "The playground is _outside_, ok? This place was lucky to survive Julian, so let's not tear it up today, huh?"

Jay released his sister with a playful shove away from the counter. "Hey, Nori. Sorry, just a little wager between me and my sister, and she went and cheated."

"I did not!" Melody said again in protest.

"How's it been today?"

Nori leaned over the counter and cradled her chin in both hands. "Believe it or not this has probably been the highlight of my shift."

"Slow?"

"That would imply it was actually moving to begin with. What are you two having? It'll be nice to actually have something to do."

Melody bounded back to the counter and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet like a Jack Russell Terrier on a sugar high. "Oh! Do you still have them fruit smoothies?" she asked.

"Yeah, Luna's not planning to phase those out for the season for another week yet," Nori said.

His sister squeaked happily and clapped her hands together. "I'll take a large strawberry-kiwi!"

"As long as it's not something with caffeine, you'll end up in orbit," Jay said with a roll of his eyes. "I'll just have a regular coffee, black."

Nori chuckled as she filled the coffee grinder and started it up. "You're lucky Luna wasn't out here to hear you say that. You drive her crazy with those vanilla orders."

"You city folks can keep all that fancy stuff," he said as he watched her get his coffee brewing. "Now back home coffee is _coffee_. Our mom's you have to beat into submission first before it lets you pour it out of the pot. And then it fights you goin' down."

"That's how dad liked it," Melody said, watching impatiently while Nori moved on to adding the fruit for her smoothie to the milk and ice already in the processor, and started it up. The soft whir of the machine filled the café and was like music to his sister's ears. "He gave me a sip once and it nearly put me through the roof, but he always said he could never wake up in the mornin' to work the mines without mom's coffee kickin' him in the butt."

Nori finished mixing the smoothie, capped it and set it on the counter, then rang them up while Jay's coffee bubbled in the pot behind her. "Just the drinks today?" she asked. Jay nodded. "That's $6.20."

Melody eyed him. "Remember, you lost," she said.

Jay sighed and rolled his eyes, and pulled out his wallet to pay. "I look forward to the day the others start to manifest so _you_ can get to put up with an annoyin' little brother or sister."

"Oh, I'll just point 'em to you and let you deal with it."

"You know, you're right. I should just have Paige take care of you instead…"

Melody stuck her straw in her smoothie and took a drink. "Well you're no fun if you gotta go and bring Paige into it. And I thought _you_ didn't have a sense of humor."

Jay rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Ugh, you don't have any siblings, do you, Nori?"

An odd look passed across her face for a moment, but she quickly shook it off. "I don't have any family to speak of," she said.

"I like to think that nothin's more important than family," he said with an annoyed look at Melody, "but then there's times like this…"

"Oh don't be such a grump," Melody said, and socked him hard in the shoulder.

Nori smirked. "That would be a change of pace."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Oh, I _know_! Do you know how hard it is to get him to smile for more than a few minutes?"

"I didn't know he _could_." His coffee finished brewing and Nori poured it into a cup for him and set it on the counter. "I swear he and that new girl are fighting to see who can be the gloomiest this year."

"She wins," he said after a careful sip of his coffee.

"Yeah, I won't debate that. But still, what's up? I mean the others have to pretty much twist your arm to get you to join in with anything."

Jay looked at Melody. "I'm goin' to find us a table," he said without answering, and left the two girls at the counter.

"Well, that was kinda rude," he heard Nori say at his back.

"Nori…It's kind of a personal thing," Melody replied solemnly. "I'd let it go."

Jay left them to talk and found a seat near the window, and let himself drift off into happier memories while he nursed his coffee.

###

Kevin pulled his long jacket tighter around him, his hands thrust into his pockets. The groundskeepers had not yet cleared this more isolated part of the grounds, and a carpet of red and gold crunched underfoot as he made his way among one of the many small copses of trees dotting the school's property. The wind was fresh and cold, and bit at the bare skin of his face. Winter would soon be on them, and while most of the students enjoyed the colors of fall, Kevin only saw death and decay; the naked trees rising from browning grass like gnarled and twisted skeletons, and the fallen leaves beginning to molder away into nothing as they awaited raking and bagging. The distant echoes of others enjoying the brisk fall air only served to emphasize the emptiness here.

He approached one of the trees and studied it for a moment, the branches splitting off the trunk like skeletal fingers, the rough bark like dead skin.

Kevin closed his eyes and withdrew his bare hands from his pockets. He flexed his fingers, balling and relaxing his fists a couple times as he sought his power. He _knew_ it was there, he could feel it churning inside him, but it was elusive, slipping from his grasp whenever he sought it…_there_! He had it!

His brow knitted in concentration as he focused his hold over his power. He reached out with one hand and laid it on the trunk of the tree. For a moment nothing happened, and Kevin allowed a smile to break out on his features. He felt the rough textures of the bark, felt it _alive_ beneath his hand.

And then it all went horribly wrong.

A low, venomous hiss filled the air, and his smile faded as he felt the bark of the tree crack and split beneath his touch. Sap oozed from the wound and blackened and smoked as it came into contact with his bare skin. Dismayed, Kevin didn't let go at first, seeking desperately for the fleeting grip he had managed to take over his power, but it wouldn't come again. His hand began to sink into the tree as the woody fibers bubbled, liquefied and then turned to dust, and it took a great effort to tear himself free again.

For a moment he just stood there staring at the ugly black wound scored into the trunk of the tree. The stench of decay filled the air, and he felt sick as the mess of rotted, ruined fibers gazed accusingly back at him. Kevin sunk to his knees and balled his hands into fists, and for some time all he could do was kneel before the tree in defeat.

###

The lounge was more crowded than usual for lunch on Saturday by the time he made it back to the building. Kevin threaded through the wide paths the others opened up for him when they saw him approaching, his hands back in his jacket pockets again and too lost in his own bitter thoughts to really care. He just scowled at the floors and stormed through the crowd on his way to the kitchen. He nearly had it. He _knew_ he did. For a moment he could feel himself in control of his power when he touched the tree, but almost as quickly it was gone again.

He found the kitchen deserted, and went about preparing his lunch from last night's leftover stroganoff in silence as the sight of the tree rotting under his touch clung to his mind. _Damn it_, why couldn't he control it? Kevin jammed the bowl with his lunch into the microwave and slammed the door closed.

"Kevin? Are…are you alright?" Laurie asked.

He looked up from the counter he was leaning over to see her standing in the kitchen doorway, wringing her hands and chewing her lower lip as she watched him. Kevin felt his shoulders slump and he looked back down at the countertop. "It's nothing," he said.

She stepped the rest of the way into the kitchen and approached him warily. "It's _not_ nothing," she said. "I…um…I'm trying not to intrude, or read you. My control is getting a lot better, but…really strong feelings are still slipping through." Laurie stopped next to him and tentatively reached out to touch his jacketed arm. "What…what's wrong?"

Kevin batted her hand away with his forearm. "Don't touch me!" he snapped, and instantly regretted the sharpness of his tone when he saw the hurt in her expression. He punched the time into the microwave and started it, more out of a need to occupy his hands than any real desire now to eat, and slumped against the counter again. "Please, don't touch me, I don't want to hurt you," he continued more softly.

Laurie resumed fidgeting again as she watched him, lower lip sucked once more under her teeth.

"You _know_ what I can do," he said. "Everything I touch dies, and I l… Look, I just care too much about you, ok?"

She studied him thoughtfully for a moment. "Is…um…is that why you've been avoiding me since Josh and I…" He didn't respond, and he knew that told her all she needed to know. "Kevin… I'm sorry. You're…um…you're one of my best friends and I just… but I never thought of you like that."

"How could you, anyway? It's not like it would matter."

She started to reach for him again and stopped, remembering his previous reaction. "It…It's nothing to do with your power. I…" Laurie hugged herself. "I'm sorry. I care for you, too, but…"

The microwave beeped, interrupting that line of thought.

"Have…um…have you thought about talking to Ms. Marie?" she offered instead. "She can't control her power, either, maybe…"

"She doesn't actually _kill_ everything she touches," he snapped again. "At least, not like me. When my power manifested the clothes on my back rotted away in an instant. I was _terrified_. And that was _before_ my dad tried to calm me down…" Kevin trailed off, trying to force down the memory of his father disintegrating in front of his eyes and fighting back the tears. "Can you imagine what it feels like watching someone you care about just…_decompose_ right in front of you because they saw you were upset and tried to _hug_ you? What kind of advice can she offer for _that_?"

Laurie just stared at him, her expression a mix of horror and pity, and was unable to find the words to respond.

"Everyone else treats me like a walking plague. No one would have anything to do with me at all until Cessily came to school. So no, I don't think there's a damn thing Ms. Marie can say that's going to mean anything to me."

"Kevin…that…that doesn't mean she can't help. I mean…maybe it's not all the same, but…"

"No, it's not the same. And that matters."

She didn't respond for a moment, and Kevin took the time to retrieve his lunch from the microwave. "I…um…I was afraid, too," she finally said. "Of me. I was afraid of my power and being around other people because of what my father did with it, the way he manipulated people because he _could_. I…I didn't want to do that. Not to you, or Josh, or anyone. I still struggle to control it a bit, but…I'm getting _better_ at it. Maybe…um…maybe all you need to do is practice?"

He sighed and dropped heavily into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "I've tried," he said. She joined him, blue eyes looking deeply back into his. _She used to never be able to look _anyone_ in the eye like that…_ "But _think_ about it, Laurie: I can't touch anything that's alive, or even _used_ to be alive. I have to wear synthetic fiber, I have to put on gloves to knock on a door. How do I practice that without killing something?"

Laurie frowned down at the table as she processed that. "I don't really know," she admitted.

"There it is."

"So…um…so you're just…giving up?"

Kevin leaned his elbows on the table and mopped his face with both hands. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"There must be _something_…"

He sighed. "Like what, ask Dr. McCoy to stick me in a jar and run experiments? I'm _already_ treated like a disease around here, being _studied_ like one isn't going to help."

Laurie blushed a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"I know you didn't."

"I just…I know I…um…I can't be what you want me to be, but…I _am_ here, ok? You're one of my best friends, and I _want_ to help, if I can."

Kevin slumped in his chair and nodded, no longer much interested in his lunch. "Thank you," he said.

###

Sofia made her way out of the library, books, binder and stacks of paper clutched against her chest. The halls were rather crowded, and even as small as the student body was it still took her a bit of maneuvering to squeeze past them. She didn't particularly want to stop working on this project right now but her growling stomach finally got the better of her work ethic, and she reluctantly admitted she needed to take a break.

As she made her way across the sitting room Josh appeared from one of the hallways, absently thumbing through his notebook while he walked. He ignored the crowd around him and nearly ran right into her as he puzzled over his notes. Sofia sent a gentle gust of wind to ruffle the pages in warning, and he looked up with a frown as he sought its source.

"Oh! Hey, Sofia," he said when he finally noticed her.

"Good afternoon," she said with a chuckle. "Busy morning?"

Josh sighed. "David and I are having a bit of a disagreement about the experiment we're running for Dr. McCoy. I decided I had to get out of there before we started dueling with the stirring rods."

Sofia smiled. "Ah, so it's going well, then?"

He snorted derisively. "You'd think he was the only one paying attention in class listening to him talk. You know, even though biology and biochem are kind of my thing and all."

She gave him an amused look. "Well, for the good of us all it probably is for the best you two evil geniuses take a break."

"Don't worry, I left my doomsday device back in the lair when I came to school. Anyway, Laurie was grabbing lunch and I was going to be joining her once I got to a stopping point."

"Ah." Sofia looked at him slyly. "So how are things going between you two?"

Josh laughed sheepishly at that question. "Well, it's only been a couple weeks but so far pretty well. If you want _details_, I'll just stop with that's all between Laurie and I."

"Ok, I'll just ask her, then. It's good to see, though, I've watched her pining for _months_." She smirked at him. "I imagine her power must make things interesting."

He blushed a bit at that. "She…uh…tries to keep that under control. Laurie's really been getting a lot better, too. Maybe a big part of it was just confidence."

"Well, good job pumping her up, then," she said, greatly enjoying the thoroughly discomfited expression on his face as they entered the lounge. Like the rest of the halls it was unusually crowded, and most of the tables were taken.

"Has it been like this all day?" Josh asked. "I haven't been up here since breakfast."

Sofia nodded. "All day, even the library has been pretty busy. Everyone is still avoiding Salem Center."

Josh shook his head. "Thank you, Julian."

She grunted. "Tell me about it. I was planning to take some time off with him tonight after I spent all last Saturday and Sunday working on my report, but the Professor has him confined to the grounds through the end of next weekend. Serves _him_ right, at least. When he came home all busted up I was ready to belt him one myself. Thank you for not helping him hide that, by the way."

Josh grinned. "Yeah, well, I figured if I patched him up _both_ of us would be asking for it, so I told him he was on his own."

"Very smart. I'm sure Laurie wouldn't have appreciated it."

He just chuckled and shook his head. They had just reached the doorway opening into the dining room when they heard a voice cry, "Look out!" followed by a crash and a shriek of pain. Sofia and Josh looked at each other in surprise for a moment, then rushed past the long table and its rows of chairs and burst into the kitchen.

Kevin was standing backed against a cabinet with his hands raised and his face twisted in a mixture of worry, horror and remorse. The fridge was open and a glass bowl that once contained leftovers from the night before was in pieces on the floor along with the rest of its contents spilled across the tile. Josh immediately darted forward to where Laurie was huddled in the middle of the spill, cradling one arm and shaking violently.

"Laurie!" Josh said, ignoring the pool of gravy, stew meat and noodles as he knelt beside her. Tears stained her face, scrunched up in a grimace of pain, and when Sofia saw the arm she tried to hide from them she felt something leap up into the back her throat. Laurie's right arm was desiccated, the muscles shriveled and her skinned blackened except for the angry red lesions weeping something particularly disgusting. The stink of rot hung heavily in the air.

Sofia forced down the rising bile and dropped next to them. "What happened?"

"She slipped," Kevin said numbly from across the kitchen. She tore her eyes away from Laurie's ruined arm and looked at him. Kevin's face was sickly white as he hovered over the scene.

"Laurie, let me see it," Josh said, any revulsion at the ruined mess of her arm masked behind near-panic and concern.

"What do you mean _slipped_?" Sofia pressed, not leaving Laurie's side as Josh studied the injury.

"She was getting something to eat and she slipped. I tried to catch her…I didn't…I didn't _think_, it was just reflex…" Kevin trailed off and stared at his own hands. "I didn't _mean_ to…"

Something snapped behind Josh's blue eyes and his mouth twisted into an angry scowl. He jumped up and covered the space between him and Kevin with frightful speed, seized him by the jacket and slammed him against one of the cabinets.

"You _touched_ her?" he snapped. Sofia hadn't seen Josh angry before. She decided in that moment he could be damn _terrifying_ if he wanted to be.

For his part Kevin didn't resist, and he looked past Josh to where Laurie huddled on the floor. Sofia took the girl in her arms and hugged her, feeling her shake in pain. "I didn't mean to do that!"

Josh balled a fist and reared back to smash Kevin's face in.

"Josh, please!" Laurie said. Her voice trembled with the agony she was in at having her arm partially decomposed while still alive. "It _was_ an accident! He was just trying to keep me from getting hurt."

Josh looked back at her, then turned back to stare Kevin down for a moment, the latter still not taking his eyes off Laurie, before he finally released him with a rough shove. He returned to her side and knelt in the spilled stroganoff again.

"Can you do anything?" Sofia asked.

He frowned at the injury as he gently took her arm in both hands. Parts of her skin sloughed off under his touch, and Sofia had to look away. "It's pretty bad, but…" Josh looked at her. "You'll need to stand back."

Sofia nodded, gave Laurie a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, and joined Kevin, who stood transfixed on the scene in front of him. "Kevin…" she began quietly.

"I didn't mean to hurt her. I'd _never_ hurt her…" he muttered.

"I know," Sofia said sympathetically.

They watched as Josh tended to Laurie. He gently took hold of her wounded arm and winced against the yelp of agony as he gripped the rotted and withered flesh. "It's ok," he said softly in her ear. "It's ok. This is going to hurt a bit, are you ready?"

Laurie squeezed her eyes shut and a few tears leaked out. "Yes," she said, with a nod and a grimace.

Josh closed his eyes and Sofia and Kevin watched as a faint golden light emanated from one hand. Laurie squealed in pain and tried to shrink away from him, but a gentle touch on her shoulder stopped her. Soon her arm was glowing from within, and Josh furrowed his brow in concentration. Sofia's jaw dropped as ruined muscle fibers knitted back together, and rotted flesh was rejuvenated. Laurie gritted her teeth and whimpered in pain, but in moments it was over. The blackened skin ruined by Kevin's touch was gone, and in its place was a new, fresh pink surface.

The glow gradually faded away and the light from Josh's hand cut off. He groaned and slumped forward in exhaustion, where Laurie caught him in a tearful hug. Sofia smiled and looked to Kevin, only to realize he was gone.

###

Act IV

###

"And that's when the park burst into flames," Jubilee said, to a chorus of laughter from the kids gathered around her.

"So wait, wait," Victor said as he wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes. "That was _you_? We always thought that was just an urban legend."

She grinned smugly from her perch on the teacher's desk. "Ah, my fame precedes me. Yep, that was me."

"You know, they haven't had another Fourth of July display there since," Julian said as he drained the last of his soda and set the can down on his desk. His earlier resistance to her presence had disappeared and now like the others he was leaning forward with rapt attention.

Jubilee chuckled and took a bite from the slice of pizza on the plate at her side. A couple empty delivery boxes were crammed alongside a mountain of soda cans into a trashcan in one corner of the classroom. "Now _that_ you can't blame _entirely_ on me," she said. "_I_ certainly didn't get a lot of complaints, just a lot of phone numbers. I think it was more the residents were tired of all the teenagers partying into the morning after, between us and the North Salem High kids. They just used burning down the park as an excuse."

"So how _did_ a rebel like you get turned into a babysitter, then?" Julian asked with a smirk.

"Karma, dude," she said, matching his cocky grin with one of her own. "You guys are the Professor punishing me for all the trouble I gave him when _I_ was your age. And one day it will be _your_ turn." Jubilee let that hang ominously in the air for a moment as she looked between each of the kids, _especially_ Julian, in turn. All of them saw the joke for what it was, though Laura's expression was, as she was finding usual, unreadable.

"No, but seriously," she continued, "I just wanted to work with kids like _me_: Mutants who didn't have anyone to turn to when they needed someone to talk to. Although giving me detention again my first weekend on the job probably _is _the Professor having a bit of fun at my expense… Then again it also has me feeling right at home, so it's like I never left!"

The kids laughed again. "So what, does that make you the school counselor, then?" Julian asked.

Jubilee shrugged. "Well, I guess you could look at it like that, but nothing really so formal. Just think of me like your awesome and beautiful big sister."

"You hear that, Mark?" Julian said. "She's your sister so don't get any ideas."

"I thought it was all you royalty types that were into that sort of thing, your highness," Mark shot back. "That blue blood runs in the family, you know."

Before Jubilee could interject, Julian's hand began to glow and he hurled his empty soda can across the room at Mark's head. However as it sailed past Laura her hand snapped up and she grabbed it out of the air without even looking. The others gawked at her, but Laura just casually tossed it into the trash before quietly taking a bite from her pizza.

"Woah," Mark said from where he was seeking cover behind his arm.

"Ok, now that was just cool," Jubilee said. She then fixed a glare on Julian. "And that's enough out of you. Just because I'm playing loose with the definition of 'detention' today doesn't mean this is a party. I _can_ have another weekend tacked on if you want to push it."

"Forget sister," Julian quipped, "you sound more like my mother."

"No, I've met your mother," Cessily chimed in. "She doesn't talk down her nose enough at you for that."

"True, I guess if she was my mother we wouldn't be seeing anything but nostril." Santo and Victor both laughed into their hands.

Jubilee rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh my god, it's _exactly_ like talking to myself ten years ago," she muttered helplessly.

Sooraya chuckled behind her _niqab_. "I for one have no doubts Allah has a keen sense of humor," she said. "So perhaps you are not wrong this is karma. After all, at the risk of sounding cliché: We reap what we sow."

She regarded Sooraya with a sympathetic arcing of her eyebrow. "And you guys deal with him every day, huh?"

"Yup," Mark said around a mouthful of pizza. "At least you get a break."

"I'll give _you_ a break later, Sheppard," Julian said. Mark just rolled his eyes and flapped his hand and thumb in the traditional "talks too much" gesture. Jubilee laughed around a bite of her pizza.

"Well," she continued once she managed to stop laughing long enough to swallow. "I've figured out Mr. Keller is the mouthy one of the group, so I'd like to get to know a little more about the rest of you. Laura, you've been refreshingly quiet compared to the others, so why don't you start us off by telling me a little about yourself?"

Laura's only response was to shrink down into her chair and look away from her, and Jubilee regarded the girl thoughtfully. She quickly recognized the sort of withdrawal she had seen so many times from the kids she worked with back home in California. Wherever she came from, Jubilee knew at once her route here had not been easy. "Laura?" she said, gently pressing for a response. "No?"

Laura shook her head.

"Ok," she said with her best concerned caseworker tone. "If you're not up to it right now that's perfectly fine, I'm not going to push you. So why don't we start with Mark, instead?"

Julian groaned. "Oh great, we'll be listening to him talk about all of his girlfriends for the rest of the day."

"I'm sorry not everyone's stories are as entertaining to hear about as yours and Sofia's latest fight," he shot back. "Did she give you a black eye to go with the busted lip you brought home last weekend?"

"Naw," Santo said. "She did chew him out pretty good, though. A lot of it was in Spanish, but it _sounded_ juicy. It was like watching one of those talk shows where they bring the idiot boyfriend out after the girlfriend spends the first fifteen minutes trash-talking him for the audience."

Julian glared at the big, rocky mutant, who was grinning ear to ear. "Whose side are you on?"

"Hey, she's just more fun to watch. Sofia does that thing where she makes you say 'Yes, dear' and shut up."

"First, do I _look_ like I'm out of a sitcom? I've never said 'Yes, dear' in my life. Second, keep in mind that just because you're big doesn't mean I can't launch you across campus, rock pile. I flew a _truck_ last weekend."

Jubilee watched the exchange with bemusement, and glanced aside at Mark. "They're not actually going to start fighting, are they?"

"Nah," he said, smiling broadly in amusement as Julian and Santo continued to snipe at each other. "They do this all the time, and it _usually_ doesn't lead to destruction of property. They're like an old married couple."

"Ah." She whistled loudly to get Julian's and Santo's attention. "Excuse me, children, it's Mark's turn to talk. If you have something to share with the class, raise your hands and wait for me to call on you."

The pair quieted down, and Jubilee found herself reflexively looking for the wall clock to see just how much longer until the circus was over.

###

Jay walked next to his sister with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets as they made their way along the strip mall. Melody had not stopped talking with Nori almost from the moment they arrived at the café, and it seemed like it was hours before they could finally get away. In the end it took Luna DePaula putting Nori to work inventorying the freezer for him to be able to drag his sister along again.

Now he was following Melody as she hit almost every shop from one end of Titicus to the other. Salem Center certainly wasn't a big metropolitan area, but compared to back home it may as well be a booming commercial center. While most of the shops sprung up to cater to the particular needs of students of the Xavier School, they still eyed the affluent residents of North Salem who wanted to avoid a trip all the way into the City, so many were high-end boutiques; clothiers and a shoe store, a salon, an electronics store and a number of other specialty shops lining the South side of Titicus east of the Grind Stone. There was also the _halal_ and kosher deli Sooraya frequented, and of course the arcade (which was still closed for repairs following Julian's brawl).

She now dragged him into one of the more exclusive women's clothiers—the next shop in line as they made their way along the street—and Jay leaned against one of the decorative columns supporting the ceiling while she browsed clothing well beyond their means.

"What do you think, do you think mom would like this?" Melody asked as she held up a designer blouse for his approval.

"Yeah, I'm sure that would look great while working the farm," he said, not bothering to mask his boredom.

"Well ain't you just a big help. It'd be for whenever she comes to visit us, or goes into town, you big dummy."

Jay sighed and looked it over more closely. That is to say, looked at the _price tag_, and what he saw written on it made his eyes pop out of his skull. "How were you expecting to pay for it? You'd have to save your allowance for a year for that, an' we both know that ain't happening 'cause it'll be gone the first time you see some top or pair of jeans you 'gotta' have."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, wouldn't you like to get momma somethin' nice? I heard Nori and Sofia say this place is just as good as some of the shops in New York."

"How did I know you were going to put that one on me? Even one of my best gigs wouldn't leave me feelin' comfortable about spending so much on one shirt."

"You know you could always get a _real_ job…"

Jay folded his arms across his chest and glared at her. "_You_ could get _a_ job. You're old enough now to work part-time after classes and over break. In fact it would be nice if you got to buy your own lunch once in a while instead of mooching off me an' Paige all the time."

Melody flashed him a pout and the adorable little sister eyes. "Aw, I thought you all liked takin' care of your little sister."

"You can keep poutin' all you like Mel. You know the sad eyes haven't worked on me since you were nine."

Melody in turn fixed him with an irritated scowl as she hung the blouse back on the rack. "Well, you are just in a _great_ mood today, ain't you?"

"Oh, I'm really having the time of my life," he said dryly. "I'm just pretending otherwise to drive you crazy. And I'm thinking of the best way to embarrass you if you run into any of the local boys while we're here."

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him with a horrified expression. "You would _not_."

"Wouldn't I?" He tapped his fingertips together and fixed her with his best comic book villain smile. "The whole making your sibling die of embarrassment thing works both ways, you know."

"Oh you are such a _jerk_ to me!"

"Infuriatin' my little sister is one of the remaining joys of my life."

Melody resumed her browsing with an exasperated sigh. "Don't be so dramatic, Jay. I know it hasn't been easy for you after…" She trailed off with a look at him as if to gauge his reaction. "After Julia," she continued when she didn't see any obvious objection on his features, and Melody sighed again, a less irritated exhalation than before, and looked back to the rack. "I dunno, you're just my brother an' I think you ought to be _happy_, an' I know from some of the girls in my class that overheard some of the older girls mention it they heard Sooraya talkin' about you at times." She flashed him a mischievous grin. "She can hide behind that burkhamacallit an' the word of Allah an' such all she wants, but she's still a girl, y'know. An' Nori says she's really pretty, too, though I don't know if I were a boy what I'd think about datin' a girl who couldn't show me her face or be alone with me without someone to keep an eye out that it don't get too frisky."

Jay stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and looked at his shoes to hide his burning cheeks. "Melody…"

She turned on him and planted her hands on her hips as she stared him down in irritation, a pose that reminded him to a frightening degree of their mother delivering a scolding. Come to think of it, Paige was just as good at it if Santo was anyone to go by, so maybe it was genetic among the Guthrie women… "Oh don't you go tryin' to deny anything with me Joshua Jay Guthrie. You avoid most everyone outside of class except me an' Paige an' Sam whenever he's not out gettin' himself in trouble with the other grownups. Your _friends_ have to practically drag you kickin' and screamin' out to have fun. Except for Sooraya. Seems you've always got time for a nice word for her."

"Let it go, Mel," he said.

"No, I don't think I will. Sam an' Paige may be willing to let you alone, but I don't think it's right an' neither does mom." Melody laid a hand on his arm. "Look, I know how much it hurt losin' her. We _all_ liked her. She was a good person, even if she was a Cabot, but… Well damn it, Jay, you've got to let her go."

Jay glared. "Hey, watch your language, you know mom doesn't like hearing you swear like the coal miners. And I've 'got' to do nothing."

"Well, mom ain't here. An' she'd agree with me, besides." There wasn't any reproach in her eyes or tone, but that didn't make it any easier to listen to her. "Julia's gone. All of us know how special she was, but it's long past time to move on."

"An' I'm telling you it's none of your business."

"Like hell it ain't, Jay, we're _family_. What happens to you makes it my business."

He scowled. "And family business is what ended up losin' her. Chester Cabot saw to that. I died twice that day, it's just a damn shame I didn't _stay_ that way."

Melody gawked at him. "You don't mean that!"

"Why do you think mom sent me to join Sam an' Paige here?"

"Jay…"

Jay felt his patience reach its breaking point and he turned for the front of the shop. "Are you about done here? It's startin' to get close to supper time so we should look to headin' back to school."

Melody started after him as he pushed past the neat displays and mannequins, any remaining interest in humoring her window shopping dashed. "Jay. _Jay!_ I'm sorry, alright? Hey! Will you stop already?"

Jay paused when he reached the doors, and his sister threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug when she reached him. "I'm _sorry_. It's just… You're my brother an' I love you, an' when we thought… Until you walked back through that door it just about killed momma inside."

He sighed and buried his face in her shoulder. "I know, Mel. I know. I just…"

"Maybe… maybe it was wrong of me to try pushin' just now but… You're always harpin' on the other kids about family when they get at each other's throats, don't forget you've _got_ family of your own that cares, too.

"Besides, this ain't right me worryin' over you. You're my big brother, you should be lookin' out for _me_. Lookin' out for you is Paige's an' Sam's an' momma's job."

Jay sighed again. "I know, Mel." He gently pushed away from her and directed her for the door. "C'mon, the shuttle ought to be pickin' up Nori before long so we can all ride back together. With as sudden as you two got interrupted by Luna earlier I'm sure you want to pick back up where you let off."

"Alright, but on one condition: You gotta get that guitar out an' play us somethin' in the lounge tonight. I hardly see you with it much lately, an' I'm sure the others would appreciate a little live music since most of them are hidin' out cooped up on the grounds."

He managed a sad smile for her. Jay found the urge to play wasn't coming as readily lately: Playing took heart, and he lost his with Julia, but if it kept Melody in line… "Well, I can't promise it'll be more than a little strummin' but I'll see what I can do."

###

Act V

###

Five o'clock didn't come quite soon enough for Jubilee. She'd spent years working with problem kids, and of course she had plenty of experience _being_ one herself, but Julian Keller quickly proved himself to be a particular handful. _Especially_ with how he and Santo fed off one another. _Well Professor, I hope you enjoyed the turnabout. But I'm still standing, and I didn't even have to "paf" anyone._

Jubilee smiled at Sooraya and Cessily as they made their polite farewells and filed out of the classroom ahead of Mark, who flashed a grin at her before heading for the door with Laura after retrieving his belongings.

"Laura, just a moment," she said before the pair could leave.

Laura paused and reluctantly turned back to face her as Victor, Julian and Santo reclaimed their own things and hurried for the door, arguing amongst one another about what to do for dinner. The girl hugged herself tightly and approached her warily, in a manner not unlike a dog accustomed to a beating called to heel by an abusive master. Jubilee frowned thoughtfully at that analogy. Professor Xavier had allowed her to review the files of all the students over the past week, but Laura's was suspiciously empty of all but the most basic information and even the nature of her mutation was missing. Whoever she was, and wherever she came from, the Professor was taking great care to keep her identity secret, and Jubilee had learned long ago that usually meant trouble.

Laura waited silently during her deliberations, and watched her uncomfortably. "Is something wrong, Ms. Lee," she said haltingly after a few moments, and Jubilee couldn't help but feel as if Laura was expecting…_something_…to happen.

She smiled as reassuringly as she could. "Not at all, I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. And please, just call me Jubilee. That 'Ms. Lee' business is going to make me feel old." Jubilee perched herself on the desk and studied her for a moment. "I picked up the distinct impression earlier you don't like talking about yourself."

"I do not," she said flatly, not quite able to mask the discomfort in her tone. "This displeases you?"

Jubilee shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, not at all, dude." She considered her next words for a moment. "When I finished school I went back home to California for a job as a caseworker. I wanted to help kids who didn't have anyone, kids who were on the streets or came from abusive homes and such. I learned to pick up on a few things during the time I spent with them. I'm no empath, but there's a lot you can learn about someone's background from the way they move and talk if you know what to look for."

Laura blinked and studied her closely, searching for the meaning behind her words. Jubilee was left with the uncomfortable feeling that the girl was looking clear through her, her green eyes calculating and alive with thought, and she couldn't help but find it a bit unnerving.

"I just want to say I'm here to help," Jubilee continued. "If you ever need to talk about anything, I want you to know my door is always open…well, if I actually _had_ a door, you know. They haven't exactly given me an office or anything." She smiled, but Laura either didn't pick up on or just disregarded the attempt at humor. "Anyway, that's all. It's up to you, but I want you to understand I'm listening and here to help."

She cocked her head and seemed to weigh that for a moment. "I will take it under advisement," she said, and Jubilee frowned at the practically robotic tone of her voice. "Is there anything else?"

Jubilee looked away for a moment as she rummaged around the desk for a pad of paper and something to write with. "No, not right now. Though if you'd like I can set up some time during the week for us to meet…" She trailed off when she looked back to where Laura had been standing just a moment before.

She was gone, and Jubilee had not even heard her leave.

###

"We could always have something delivered from Salem Center," Victor was saying as they left the classroom.

Julian grunted while checking the messages on his phone. "Like what? We already had pizza for lunch."

"Ooh, what about those sandwiches from the deli," Santo said. "Y'know, that place on Titicus Sooraya visits. Those are pretty good."

"Yeah, but they don't deliver, and thanks to Julian we're still confined to the grounds for another week," Victor said.

"Forget it," Julian said, and slipped his phone back into his pocket. "You two can do whatever you want, I'll just eat whatever the cooks are doing here tonight."

"And let this go to waste?" Sofia said as she met them at the entrance to the sitting room, holding a takeout box that smelled rather Italian from where he was standing.

Julian's stomach began to growl. "Wait, what is 'this?' I smell real food."

Sofia giggled as he hovered over the box, more as an excuse to thread an arm around her waist than sniff the contents of whatever she brought back. "Just some contraband for my criminal," she said.

He kissed her. "I love you, you know that?"

"Aw, what about us?" Santo said with mock disappointment.

"You keep your hands off, this is mine," Julian said. "The food is, too."

"Come on, Santo, let's just see what the cook has going tonight," Victor said, and dragged the big mutant off to let Julian and Sofia walk alone. She kept a firm hold of the takeout box to keep him from absconding with it and led him down the hall after them towards the lounge.

"So how was detention? This time."

Julian shrugged. "It was alright. I've got to admit, you know the new advisor? Jubilee? She's actually kind of cool."

"Mm, I'm not sure what to think of such high praise coming from you, but she does seem nice. But I'm sure you'll be disappointed to hear you missed a bit of excitement earlier. Josh and Kevin almost got into it."

"You mean the school's golden boy was actually fighting? What set _that_ off?"

She sighed. "Laurie. Kevin accidentally touched her trying to help when she slipped and fell in the kitchen earlier."

Julian sucked a breath through his teeth and cringed in sympathy. "Ouch."

"Mm-hmm. Josh didn't take it well at all. I don't think I've seen him actually _angry_ before." Sofia frowned. "If Laurie hadn't stopped him I think he might have ripped Kevin apart."

"Laurie's ok?"

Sofia nodded as they entered the lounge. "She's fine, Josh fixed her back up in no time. I haven't seen Kevin since, but it's probably for the best he steer clear of Josh for right now."

Speaking of Josh and Laurie, he saw them off cuddling in one corner where a number of other students were gathered in a knot around Jay as his fingers danced along the strings of his guitar, filling the lounge with something that sounded like a mishmash of blues, country and hard rock. "Oh great, Elvis is at it tonight," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh you be nice," she said, and spit him with an admonishing glare. "It's been a while since he's been in the mood to play." A sly smile crept across her lips. "Besides, I happen to think a little live music over dinner is _very_ romantic."

"I'll be sure to tell your next boyfriend, because if this is your taste in music I don't see it lasting." Sofia took one look at his mock-serious expression on his face and socked him in the shoulder hard enough to let the smile it was hiding break through. "When was the last time we danced, anyway? It had to have been at the Winter Formal last year."

"Mm, that was fun; though I think in hindsight floating above the crowd in a dress was probably a bad idea. _Especially_ with Santo around."

Julian led her to a table under a window looking out onto the grounds as the sun outside sunk into the West and set the sky on fire. "Yeah, well, I'd have launched him across the state if he tried to sneak a peak. And he knows it."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Such chivalry."

"Hey, I've got to protect my girl's honor."

She laughed as he helped her into a seat. "You know, we should dance tonight, seeing as we have music."

Julian seated himself across from her. "I don't know, I've got a reputation to consider. If we do that too often people may stop asking what you could possibly see in me."

"Oh, don't worry about that," she said as she opened the takeout box. "They'll still wonder. In fact I still ask _myself_ that same question every time I see you."

"Simple: I'm handsome, rich, well-bred…"

"Ah, now I remember: It's your sense of humor." Julian stuck his tongue out at her and Sofia responded with a sarcastic smile. "It _certainly_ isn't your maturity."

As Sofia went about unpacking their dinner, Julian decided that detention hadn't really been that bad.

###

Nori sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her feet. She was sure if Sooraya had been in the room the girl would have something particularly smart to say about her decision to wear heels while working at the café, and since she had no desire to hear it was quite glad she wasn't.

She was just getting ready to undress and change when there was a knock at the door. Nori sighed and muttered a string of curses in Japanese as she got up and padded over to answer it. David smiled at her as the door opened, and much of the stress of the day lifted from her shoulders.

"Hey," she said.

"Good evening," David said.

She held the door open for him. "Do you want to come in?"

David peeked inside cautiously. "What about…"

"Sooraya is down at dinner," she said.

"Ah, I've been down in the lab all day working on that project with Josh, and just realized what time it was," he offered as explanation. Nori just shrugged and closed the door behind him as he stepped inside. "How was work?"

Nori sighed. "Long, slow and I'm glad it's over with. She had me restocking the kitchen and freezer _all day_." She returned to sit on the edge of her bed, and David settled down next to her. "I should have asked for the day off."

David chuckled. "Would Luna have given it to you?"

She shrugged and scowled. "Probably not. And ugh, I still have to go in _tomorrow_, too."

"Well, it's a paycheck. I was getting ready to head down to dinner, are you coming?"

"I'm sorry, baby, right now I just want to get cleaned up and collapse for a bit."

He nodded. "Ok. I'll bring you something up in a bit."

David started to get up, but Nori stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Wait," she said, and pulled him into a brief kiss. "_This_ I can do with." Then she kissed him again and held him for a long moment.

"What about collapsing?" he asked when she let him up from air.

"Less talking," Nori admonished and kissed him again, and pulled him down onto the bed with her.

###

Sooraya clapped politely with the rest of the students present as Jay finished his song and started into another. She wasn't particularly fond of such a style of music, but acknowledged he had quite a bit of talent. Cessily's applause was much more enthusiastic, and she whistled loudly in encouragement.

"So how did you like your first trip to detention?" Cessily asked as the applause died down.

Sooraya folded her arms beneath her breast and watched Jay as his hands glided skillfully over the strings of his guitar. He was not following any particular program she could discern, but merely playing whatever came to mind. "It was a curious experience," she said. "I somehow thought that detention would be more of an actual punishment than pizza and sodas."

Cessily laughed. "Yeah, it normally would be. This was pretty unusual. Not…uh…not that I'm in detention all that often."

"Oh, do not worry, I would never have jumped to such a conclusion."

"But this was really your first time being held outside of class? _Ever_?" Cessily asked, her eyebrows lifted in disbelief.

"Ever," Sooraya said. "Of course, even after the removal of the Taliban my mother found it difficult to get me into a school so it is not like I had many opportunities to get into so much trouble. Sadly, as much as things have improved in Afghanistan since the Americans invaded it will take time for such ideas to spread to all of my countrymen. There are many who are not quite ready to give up their old ways, particularly when they worked to their advantage."

Cessily nodded and frowned. "I guess that's something all of us can relate to, especially after last weekend. Do you talk to your family often?"

She sighed, memories coming unbidden of the rough hands seizing her in the night, and her power awakening in an explosion stripping flesh from bone. "It has been years since I've seen my mother, and I do not even know if she is still alive.

"Oh! Oh, Sooraya, I'm sorry!" Cessily might have blushed in embarrassment if she were capable. "It's just…I don't think we've ever talked about it…"

Sooraya smiled and laid a hand on Cessily's shoulder. "It is alright! It is no secret, and I am not ashamed of my past. You merely did not ask, and I assumed you knew and were merely being respectful."

"Asked about what?" Mark said. He approached them with his hands in his pockets and his headphones back around his neck, and in much better spirits than when Jubilee had made him turn his iPod over.

"Sooraya's mother," Cessily said. "It's funny the things that you never think to ask your friends."

The aroma of cooking food drifting from the kitchen and dining hall tickled Sooraya's nose. "Indeed," she says. "It smells like dinner is almost ready, where is Laura? I thought you left detention together?"

Mark shrugged. "We started to, but Jubilee asked her to stay a little longer to talk. She disappeared somewhere after that."

Cessily frowned. "It'd be a shame for her to miss dinner, I wonder where she ran off to. I've noticed she's done this before."

"Even with as few of us as there are here, it's sometimes easy to forget how difficult it can be to have privacy," Sooraya noted. "I suppose she just wished for time alone. Come, after spending a day trapped in a small room with Julian and Santo I don't wish to deny her. She will turn up again when she's ready. Shall we see about dinner?"

Mark smiled at them and offered them both an arm. Cessily giggled at the display and accepted, and Sooraya joined her. "Just don't tell Laura about this," Mark said with a wink. "I think she's starting to like me, so I'd hate to make her jealous."

Cessily grinned slyly. "Oh, I'll think of suitable blackmail terms later."

The three started off for the dining hall while Jay's guitar continued to sing behind them, and Sooraya allowed herself a brief look back before they passed through the door.

###

The cold autumn breeze stirred Kevin's hair as he approached the tree, the angry black wound staring accusingly at him. In the West the sun had nearly slipped below the horizon, leaving only a fiery blush fading into the deep indigo of night and the lights of the mansion somewhere behind him to illuminate the grounds.

He didn't notice any of it, all he could see in his mind was Laurie's arm atrophying and rotting away under his touch, and being restored again by Josh.

A lump rose in his throat and he felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he forced the pain down and in its place felt something else. Something dark and bitter. Embers of jealousy smoldered in the pit of his stomach, fanned into flames by anger. Why _him_? Kevin had known Laurie longer. He had been one of the first to befriend her. He cared for her first. He was _here_ first. Josh was a newcomer, an _intruder_.

Envy and anger twined together, two strands of a thread of hatred weaving through him. It wasn't _fair_. Josh, his power, _none of it_. His hands balled into fists so tight his nails began to cut his palms, and impulsively he strode forward and seized hold of the tree.

The bark smoked and hissed under his touch once again, and sap burst from the gaping fissures torn open in its trunk as bark and pulp rotted away. And this time he didn't let go. His lip curled with rage as he watched the tree wither and die, and crumble into dust. And when the deed was done he stepped back and regarded his handiwork, and a new sensation washed over him: _Satisfaction_.

It terrified him.

Kevin flexed his hands to steady himself and fight off the nausea as his anger passed and a queasy feeling over what he had just done overcame the hate and envy. He started to turn away when he saw her shadow between the trees of the small grove.

Laura stared at him, her green eyes glittering in the fading twilight and her expression unreadable. He knew immediately that whatever brought her out here tonight, wherever she had been going, she had seen what he had done. Kevin looked back at the ruined remains of the tree, a rotted skeleton collapsing under its decaying bulk, guilt washed over him and he started to say something.

But when he turned back to her again she was gone.

* * *

**A Note From The Author**

Whew, finally. I'll admit, installments that are focused primarily on character development rather than action can be a real challenge to write. Action scenes are a great way to eat up the word count without a lot of thinking. Dialog and character interaction takes a good bit more thinking, but the importance of character focus episodes in building the world can't be overlooked.

With this episode the last of the main players of season 1 have been introduced, with the bonus of an appearance by Aero (as previously noted, the film verse has no Decimation event, so she's still here and powered). There's also a bit of minor set up for future character arcs over the course of the season. And sorry, but I just couldn't resist the temptation to take advantage of David to poke at the Cubs (go Cards!).

I caught _The Wolverine_ over the weekend, and for anyone else reading who has seen the film I realize I now have a minor continuity issue with Logan's claws in 1x01 (obviously, 1x01 was posted before the movie came out). I will _not_ be going back and revising that chapter just yet, since I want to see how _Days of Future Past_ affects the film verse. Although James Marsden has confirmed he won't appear as Cyclops, he did hint that Bryan Singer intends to "fix" problems in the film series with it, so I'm holding off until then to see what direction Singer decides to take. Otherwise, I'm still waffling a bit on whether this will follow up on _Days of Future Past_, or if it's going to become an alternate continuity that will ignore the post-_X3_ films entirely.

I'll be getting a bit of a break for the next installment, which is being penned by writing teammate/book canon adviser Anaphylaxis. Stay tuned!


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